Retrospective cohort study links medical financial hardship to poor lifestyle adherence in childhood cancer survivors, suggesting intervention needs.
Key Points
To explore the impact of medical financial hardship on lifestyle and surveillance nonadherence in survivors of childhood cancer.
Retrospective cohort study of 3322 childhood cancer survivors from the multiinstitutional Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
Participants completed surveys on financial hardship and adherence to lifestyle and surveillance recommendations
Logistic regression models examined associations between hardship domains and lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity and surveillance adherence.
Material hardship correlated with increased odds of non-guideline-concordant physical activity (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.29-2.18)
Behavioral and psychological hardships heightened smoking odds (ORs 2.29 and 3.95, respectively)
Psychological hardship linked to greater nonadherence to skin cancer surveillance (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.05-3.02) among high-risk survivors.