The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort Study
Background: The Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the health and day-to-day life of individuals, especially the elderly and people with certain pre-existing medical conditions, including cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate how COVID-19 impacted access to cancer scr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2023-06-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/86562 |
| _version_ | 1797629273733857280 |
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| author | Victoria P Mak Kami White Lynne R Wilkens Iona Cheng Christopher A Haiman Loic Le Marchand |
| author_facet | Victoria P Mak Kami White Lynne R Wilkens Iona Cheng Christopher A Haiman Loic Le Marchand |
| author_sort | Victoria P Mak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the health and day-to-day life of individuals, especially the elderly and people with certain pre-existing medical conditions, including cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate how COVID-19 impacted access to cancer screenings and treatment, by studying the participants in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) study.
Methods: The MEC has been following over 215,000 residents of Hawai‘i and Los Angeles for the development of cancer and other chronic diseases since 1993–1996. It includes men and women of five racial and ethnic groups: African American, Japanese American, Latino, Native Hawaiian, and White. In 2020, surviving participants were sent an invitation to complete an online survey on the impact of COVID-19 on their daily life activities, including adherence to cancer screening and treatment. Approximately 7,000 MEC participants responded. A cross-sectional analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between the postponement of regular health care visits and cancer screening procedures or treatment with race and ethnicity, age, education, and comorbidity.
Results: Women with more education, women with lung disease, COPD, or asthma, and women and men diagnosed with cancer in the past 5 years were more likely to postpone any cancer screening test/procedure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Groups less likely to postpone cancer screening included older women compared to younger women and Japanese American men and women compared to White men and women.
Conclusions: This study revealed specific associations of race/ethnicity, age, education level, and comorbidities with the cancer-related screening and healthcare of MEC participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased monitoring of patients in high-risk groups for cancer and other diseases is of the utmost importance as the chance of undiagnosed cases or poor prognosis is increased as a result of delayed screening and treatment.
Funding: This research was partially supported by the Omidyar 'Ohana Foundation and grant U01 CA164973 from the National Cancer Institute. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:52:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59ee6af0d14f49ae823b76c5d35e81b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:52:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-59ee6af0d14f49ae823b76c5d35e81b02023-11-13T17:08:37ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2023-06-011210.7554/eLife.86562The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort StudyVictoria P Mak0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0908-5018Kami White1Lynne R Wilkens2Iona Cheng3Christopher A Haiman4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0097-9971Loic Le Marchand5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5013-980XPopulation Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, United StatesPopulation Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, United StatesPopulation Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, United StatesDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United StatesCenter for Genetic Epidemiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United StatesPopulation Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, United StatesBackground: The Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the health and day-to-day life of individuals, especially the elderly and people with certain pre-existing medical conditions, including cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate how COVID-19 impacted access to cancer screenings and treatment, by studying the participants in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) study. Methods: The MEC has been following over 215,000 residents of Hawai‘i and Los Angeles for the development of cancer and other chronic diseases since 1993–1996. It includes men and women of five racial and ethnic groups: African American, Japanese American, Latino, Native Hawaiian, and White. In 2020, surviving participants were sent an invitation to complete an online survey on the impact of COVID-19 on their daily life activities, including adherence to cancer screening and treatment. Approximately 7,000 MEC participants responded. A cross-sectional analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between the postponement of regular health care visits and cancer screening procedures or treatment with race and ethnicity, age, education, and comorbidity. Results: Women with more education, women with lung disease, COPD, or asthma, and women and men diagnosed with cancer in the past 5 years were more likely to postpone any cancer screening test/procedure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Groups less likely to postpone cancer screening included older women compared to younger women and Japanese American men and women compared to White men and women. Conclusions: This study revealed specific associations of race/ethnicity, age, education level, and comorbidities with the cancer-related screening and healthcare of MEC participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased monitoring of patients in high-risk groups for cancer and other diseases is of the utmost importance as the chance of undiagnosed cases or poor prognosis is increased as a result of delayed screening and treatment. Funding: This research was partially supported by the Omidyar 'Ohana Foundation and grant U01 CA164973 from the National Cancer Institute.https://elifesciences.org/articles/86562COVID-19health-related behaviorscancer screeninglifestyle factorsmultiethnic cohort |
| spellingShingle | Victoria P Mak Kami White Lynne R Wilkens Iona Cheng Christopher A Haiman Loic Le Marchand The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort Study eLife COVID-19 health-related behaviors cancer screening lifestyle factors multiethnic cohort |
| title | The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort Study |
| title_full | The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort Study |
| title_fullStr | The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort Study |
| title_short | The impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults: The Multiethnic Cohort Study |
| title_sort | impact of covid 19 on cancer screening and treatment in older adults the multiethnic cohort study |
| topic | COVID-19 health-related behaviors cancer screening lifestyle factors multiethnic cohort |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/86562 |
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