Financial distress amongst older adults with gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies.

Abstract

517 Background: Many patients with cancer report financial distress (FD); however, the magnitude of FD in the growing number of older adults with cancer remains less clear, particularly in those with GI malignancies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the proportion of older adults with GI malignancies reporting FD and to characterize geriatric assessment (GA) and cancer-related factors associated with FD. Methods: Older adults ( ≥ 60yrs) seen in the GI oncology clinic at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) were asked to fill out a patient-reported GA, entitled the Cancer & Aging Resilience Evaluation (CARE), at their visit. The CARE includes questions pertaining to patient’s independence in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), falls, physical function, polypharmacy, and comorbidity. A single item question regarding FD from the patient satisfaction questionnaire (PSQ-18) was included. FD was defined as agreement with the phrase “Do you have to pay for more medical care than you can afford.” Demographic and GA characteristics were compared between those with and without FD using Chi-square and t-tests. Results: 233 patients completed the CARE a median of 71 days after diagnosis. Median age 68y (60-96); 54.5% male and 76.0% non-Hispanic white. Most common cancer types included colorectal (39.1%) and pancreatic cancers (20.6%). A total of 62 patients (26.6%) had FD. Patients with FD were more likely to be younger (68.1 vs. 70.1y, p = 0.04), of black race (37.1% vs. 15.8%, p = 0.007), have low education ( ≤ high school: 74.2% vs. 59.6%, p = 0.02), have one or more falls (31.5% vs. 19.9%, p = 0.077), to be limited a lot in walking 1 block (54.4% vs. 27.4%, p = 0.0003), take more than 4 medications (88.3% vs. 70.8%, p = 0.007), to have more than one comorbid condition (93.1% vs. 82.6%, p = 0.052), to report impaired IADLs (61.3% vs. 43.9%, p = 0.055), and impaired ADL (27.4% vs. 14.6%, p = 0.069). No associations were found with GI cancer type or stage, marital status, time from diagnosis, or hearing/vision impairments. Conclusions: Over a quarter of the older adult population with GI malignancies report FD. Several GA and demographic factors were associated with FD that may help identify older patients at risk for FD.