Lower prevalence of employment seen for survivors of childhood cancer

Adult survivors of childhood cancer have declines in employment and increases in health-related unemployment compared with the general population, according to a study published online May 10 in JAMA Network Open.

Neel S. Bhatt, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study of five-year cancer survivors diagnosed at age 20 years or younger between 1970 and 1986 to examine longitudinal trends in employment. Sex-stratified employment status at baseline (2002 to 2004) and follow-up (2014 to 2016) was compared to rates from the general population.

The researchers found that the prevalence of full-time or part-time employment at baseline was 71.3 and 85.3 percent for female and male participants, respectively, and prevalence at follow-up was 64.8 and 77.3 percent, respectively; standardized prevalence ratios declined over time (from 1.01 to 0.94 for women and from 0.96 to 0.92 for men).

There was an increase noted in the prevalence of health-related unemployment (11.6 to 17.2 percent for women; 8.1 to 17.1 percent for men); compared with the general population, the standardized prevalence ratio remained elevated and decreased over time (3.78 to 2.23 for women; 3.12 to 2.61 for men).

Of the survivors who were employed fulltime at baseline, 19.2 and 12.8 percent of women and men, respectively, experienced a negative employment transition.

“A multidisciplinary approach that includes survivors, clinicians, and employers is likely needed to address long-term employment needs of cancer survivors,” the authors write.

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