The impact of chronic comorbidities at the time of breast cancer diagnosis on quality of life, and emotional health following treatment in Canada

Abstract

Introduction Advances in breast cancer screening and treatment have led to an increasing number of breast cancer survivors. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of comorbidities on self-reported quality of life (QOL) and emotional health following a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Methods Women with a personal history of breast cancer (N = 3,372) were identified from the cross-sectional Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) Experiences of Cancer Patients in Transitions Survey. Multinomial (nominal) logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the relationship between burden of comorbidities and overall QOL and emotional health (very poor/poor, fair, good, very good). Results Of the 3,372 participants, 57% reported at least one chronic condition at the time of breast cancer diagnosis. As the number of chronic conditions at diagnosis increased, the odds of reporting worse quality of life and emotional health following treatment also increased. Specifically, compared to women reporting very good QOL, for each additional chronic condition, women reported significantly higher odds of reporting good (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.32), fair (OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.58, 1.96), or poor/very poor (OR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.86, 2.88) QOL. Similarly, for each additional comorbidity, women reported significantly higher odds of reporting good (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.28), fair (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.46, 1.82), or poor/very poor (OR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.81, 2.60) emotional health, relative to very good emotional health. Conclusion Breast cancer survivors coping with a high comorbidity burden experience worse overall QOL and emotional health following treatment. This highlights the importance of integrating information on comorbidities into survivorship care to improve the experience and overall outcomes of patients with complex needs.

Examining the quality of life of patients living with breast cancer in Southern Sri Lanka: A descriptive cross-sectional study

“…A moderate level of total QoL was reported in some countries such as Iran and India as observed in the current study (Kiadaliri, Bastani & Ibrahimipour, 2012;Muthanna, Khairkar & Hurtig, 2017). BC patients in some countries like Canada, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Korea, and Malaysia had reported higher total QoL (Arneja & Brooks, 2021;Imran et al, 2019;Muthanna et al, 2021;Yusoff et al, 2022) whereas a lower level of total QoL was found among certain BC patients in China and Colombia (Ban et al, 2021;Cui, Wang & Wang, 2021;Finck et al, 2018). In our study, the observed low level of social QoL has greatly contributed to lowering the total QoL to a moderate level.…”

The Benefits of Physical Activity to Reduce Mortality in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients: A Literature Review

“…Along with an increased vulnerability to breast cancer, increasing age also carries a higher risk of other health problems [10,11]. Postmenopausal breast cancer patients frequently have one or more pre-existing comorbid conditions at the time of diagnosis (eg, arthritis or other rheumatologic diseases, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoporosis, and diabetes mellitus) [12,13].…”

Presence of Multi-Morbidities and Colorectal Cancer Screening Utilization among Breast Cancer Survivors

“…Recent efforts were made toward survivors’ quality of life, including integrating information on multi-morbidities into survivorship care. The reason is that worse physical and mental health have a negative impact on survival outcomes of breast cancer patients [ 16 , 17 ]. Therefore, identifying racial/ethnic differences and understanding survivors’ physical and mental health may assist providers in recommending the appropriate follow-up care with timely CRC screening.…”