Abstract
Abstract Purpose: Disease co-occurrence is not uncommon. Comorbidities are concurrent, etiologically independent chronic health conditions, unrelated to the disease under study. Cancer, unfortunately is no exception with 68-85% of adult cancer patients diagnosed with other chronic illnesses. Among cancer survivors comorbid conditions that can negatively influence health and survivorship outcomes. Ethnic minorities report more co-occurring illnesses and poorer survivorship outcomes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to document the occurrence of comorbidities among African-American and Latina (English language preferred (ELP) and Spanish language preferred (SLP)) breast cancer survivors (BCS). Methods: In total, 88 African-American, 95 ELP Latina, and 137 SLP Latina BCS were recruited via case ascertainment from the California Cancer Registry and hospital registries. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire in which they provided demographic and cancer-related medial characteristics and completed a comorbidity checklist indicating their comorbid conditions. Results: Almost 1 in 4 BCS endorsed at least one comorbid condition with arthritis (37%), high blood pressure (37%), psychological difficulties (29%), and diabetes (19%) being among the most commonly endorsed. The occurrence of comorbidities differed by ethnic and linguistic group. Specifically, SLP Latina BCS were more likely to report having diabetes (29%) and experiencing psychological difficulties (42%). Latina BCS were twice as likely to endorse osteoporosis and headaches compared to African-Americans. Hypertension (49%) and arthritis (48%) most commonly co-occurred in African-American BCS. Older age was correlated with arthritis, diabetes, glaucoma, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis. Conclusions: The findings suggest that investigating the occurrence of comorbidities in ethnically diverse groups may shed some light in understanding cancer risk, outcomes and cancer health disparities. Having a better grasp of comorbid conditions in specific ethnic groups may aid in more appropriate early co-occurring chronic illness assessment and integration into cancer treatment regimens, and better follow-up care and management of the cancer and the comorbid condition(s). Integrated control and management of comorbidities has the potential to improve quality care for the whole person, and increase survival and decrease morbidity. Citation Format: Kimlin T. Ashing. Occurrence of comorbidities among multi-ethnic breast cancer survivors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C29. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-C29
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