Long-term cervical cancer survivors on disability pension: a subgroup in need of attention from health care providers

Abstract

Purpose Survivors of cervical cancer have an increased risk for permanently reduced work ability qualifying for disability pension (DP). Few studies describe the social and health situation of long-term survivors of cervical cancer (LSCCs) on DP as a subgroup among LSCCs. The purpose was to investigate the socio-demographic and health status of LSCCs holding DP in a population-based cohort using LSCCs holding paid work as reference. Methods Altogether, 354 LSCCs under 67 years (age of retirement pension in Norway) at survey participated in this study. They responded to a mailed questionnaire containing social, health, and clinical issues. Results Among LSCCs 24% held DP at a median of 11 years (range 6-15) after diagnosis versus 12% in the general female population. Compared to LSCCs in paid work, those on DP had significantly higher mean age at survey, short education, more comorbid somatic diseases, poorer self-rated health, higher level of neurotoxic side effects, more chronic fatigue, and higher mean levels of anxiety and depression. Increased age, presence of musculo-skeletal diseases, and increased levels of depression and pain remained significantly associated with DP in multivariate analysis. Conclusions One in four LSCCs held DP which was twice the rate of the general female population. Several somatic and psychological conditions amenable to treatment were significantly associated with holding DP. Implications for Cancer Survivors LSCCs holding DP should check their health regularly since conditions that can be treated are common, and health care providers should be aware of this opportunity.

Investigating how cancer-related symptoms influence work outcomes among cancer survivors: a systematic review

“…The most common outcome of interest was employment/RTW but work ability, productivity, and other work outcomes were also examined. Similar to fatigue, approximately one-third of the studies evaluating depression and work status demonstrated significant findings [18,20,21,27,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37] but more than half of the studies evaluating work ability yielded significantly negative associations between depression and work ability [16][17][18]. In contrast, studies consistently shown non-significant findings when the association of anxiety and various work outcomes was evaluated.…”

Disability pension among gynaecological cancer survivors with or without radiation-induced survivorship syndromes

“…A Swedish study [ 12 ] based on a large population-based cohort of gynaecological cancer survivors shows that cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy alone had a 1.7 times increased risk of being granted a disability pension compared with those treated with hysterectomy only. In a recent Norwegian study [ 13 ], long-term cervical cancer survivors were reported to have a two times higher prevalence of disability pension compared with females in the general population. In addition, a significantly higher proportion of cervical cancer survivors on disability pension reported treatment with pelvic radiation combined with chemotherapy compared with cervical cancer survivors in paid work [ 13 ].…”

“…In a recent Norwegian study [13], long-term cervical cancer survivors were reported to have a two times higher prevalence of disability pension compared with females in the general population. In addition, a significantly higher proportion of cervical cancer survivors on disability pension reported treatment with pelvic radiation combined with chemotherapy compared with cervical cancer survivors in paid work [13].…”

“…A cancer survivor placed on disability pension therefore faces two health hazards, the treatment-induced condition and the effects associated with being on disability pension. We know that women who have been cured of gynaecological cancer are more likely than other women to receive a disability pension [ 12 , 13 ]. However, we do not know which treatment-induced conditions mediate this effect.…”

Cervical cancer survivors and health care use: A Danish population-based register study

“…Several studies have reported on the risk of negative psychological consequences after diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer [2][3][4][5]. Also, these patients were found to have a higher risk of reduced working ability, longer sick leave, and more often holding disability pension compared with the general population in the decades after the diagnosis [6,7]. In previous studies, early and late effects were assessed after the diagnoses of cervical cancer compared with a reference group.…”