Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients with Colorectal Cancer: Analysis of the SEER-MHOS Linked Data Set

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We hypothesized that racial and ethnic disparities exist in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among older adults with colorectal cancer, both before and after diagnosis. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results and Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (SEER-MHOS) linked data set was used to identify patients 65 years old and above who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 1996 and 2015. Self-reported race/ethnicity, the predictor of interest, was categorized as White (W), Asian/Pacific Islander (API), Black/African American (B), or Hispanic (H). HRQOL data from the 36-Item Short Form Survey and Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey were extracted within 24 months pre- and post-diagnosis. HRQOL was measured using the Physical Component Summary (PCS), Mental Component Summary (MCS), and Total Component Summary (TCS, a summation of PCS and MCS), which were the response variables. Associations were assessed via univariable (UVA) and multivariable (MVA) linear regression analysis, adjusting for age, sex, region, marital status, education, income, number of comorbidities, limitations in activities of daily living, stage, and histology. Pairwise comparisons were performed between all racial and ethnic groups. We identified a total of 1,204 evaluable patients, with 815 in the pre-diagnosis cohort and 562 in the post-diagnosis cohort, including 173 patients in both. With unadjusted p-values, pre-diagnosis UVA revealed a higher mean PCS in API patients compared to W, B, and H patients (p<0.001, p<0.001, p = 0.02) as well as in W compared to H patients (p = 0.002); a higher mean MCS in W and API patients compared to B (p<0.001, p = 0.002) and H patients (p<0.001, p = 0.002); and a higher mean TCS in API compared to W, B, and H patients (p = 0.027, p<0.001, p<0.001) as well as in W compared to B and H patients (p<0.001, p = 0.012). Pre-diagnosis MVA revealed a higher mean PCS in API compared to B patients (p = 0.028) and a higher mean MCS in W and B compared to H patients (p = 0.022, p = 0.021). Post-diagnosis UVA showed a higher mean MCS in W compared to B and H patients (p<0.001 for both) as well as in API compared to H patients (p = 0.002), and a higher mean TCS in W and API patients compared to B (p<0.001, p = 0.045) and H patients (p<0.001, p = 0.007). Post-diagnosis MVA showed a higher mean MCS in API compared to H patients (p = 0.035). Compared to pre-diagnosis, post-diagnosis mean TCS was numerically lower for all groups. Among older adults with colorectal cancer, there appear to be racial and ethnic disparities in HRQOL. Before the cancer diagnosis, API patients had better physical HRQOL than B patients, while W and B patients had better mental HRQOL than H patients. After diagnosis, API patients had better mental HRQOL than H patients. For all groups, the cancer diagnosis seemed to have a negative impact on overall HRQOL.