Heterogeneity of financial toxicity and associated risk factors for older cancer survivors in China

Mingzhu Su; Siqi Liu; Li Liu; Fang Wang; Jiahui Lao; Xiaojie Sun

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107768

Heterogeneity of financial toxicity and associated risk factors for older cancer survivors in China

iScience. 2023 Aug 29;26(10):107768. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107768. eCollection 2023 Oct 20.

Authors

Mingzhu Su^{1

2}, Siqi Liu³, Li Liu^{4

5}, Fang Wang³, Jiahui Lao⁶, Xiaojie Sun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Health Management and Policy Research, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
² NHC Key Lab of Health Economics and Policy Research (Shandong University), Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
³ Center of Health System and Policy, Institute of Medical Information & Library, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100020, China.
⁴ School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
⁵ Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong 250021, China.
⁶ Center for Big Data Research in Health and Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan Shandong, China.

Abstract

In China, older cancer survivors may show heterogeneity in financial toxicity (FT). We aimed to identify FT profiles among older Chinese cancer survivors and examine the association between FT profiles and individual characteristics. We used a latent profile analysis to categorize participants and a multinomial logistic regression to examine the associations. We identified three distinct FT profiles: high, moderate, and low. Participants aged 65-69 years, with a monthly household income ≥ 5,000 CNY and a high school education or above were more likely to be classified into the moderate than high FT profile, a monthly household income ≥ 5,000 CNY increased the likelihood of being in the low FT profile and living alone negatively affected the odds of being in the low FT profile. The findings identified heterogeneity in FT among this population, may help identify high-risk groups, and may enable early intervention.

Keywords: Cancer; Patient social context; Public health; Socioeconomic status.