Education Level as a Predictor of Survival in Patients with Multiple Myeloma

Abstract

Background Disparities in multiple myeloma (MM) prognosis based on sociodemographic factors may exist. We investigated whether education level at diagnosis influenced Chinese MM patient outcomes.Methods We performed a multicenter retrospective analysis of data from 773 MM patients across 9 centers in China from 2006 to 2019. Sociodemographic and clinical factors at diagnosis and treatment regimens were recorded, and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results Overall, 69.21% of patients had low education levels. Patients with low education levels differed from those with high education levels in that they were more likely to be older, and a higher proportion lived in rural areas, were unemployed, had lower annual incomes and lacked insurance. Additionally, compared to patients with high education levels, patients with low education levels had a higher proportion of international staging system (ISS) stage III classification and elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and underwent transplantation less often. Patients with high education levels had better progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than did patients with low education levels (67.50±8.10 versus 30.60±1.64 months; 122.27±0 versus 55.83±3.55 months, log-rank test, p<0.001; respectively). In the multivariable analysis, patients with high education levels had lower relapse and mortality rates than did those with low education level in terms of PFS and OS (hazard ratio (HR)=0.50 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.34-0.72], p<0.001; HR=0.31 [0.18-0.53], p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions Low education levels may independently predict poor survival in MM patients in China. To reduce healthcare disparities for universal healthcare reform, it is critical to improve citizens’ education levels.