BACKGROUND: Serious psychological distress (SPD) is associated with adverse health outcomes such as poor quality of life and shorter survival in cancer survivors, but to the authors' knowledge, the relationship between SPD and health care use and medical expenditures is not clear. METHODS: A total of 4326 cancer survivors and 57,109 noncancer participants were identified from the 2008 through 2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationwide population-based survey, and their psychological distress was assessed with the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (SPD defined by a score ≥13). The association between SPD and use and medical expenditures of various types of health care (office-based, outpatient, hospital inpatient, emergency department, dental, and prescriptions) was examined using a 2-part modeling approach that adjusted for demographic, personal, and comorbidity factors. The marginal effects of SPD on health care use and expenditures were calculated for cancer survivors and were compared with those of noncancer participants. RESULTS: The weighted prevalence of SPD in cancer survivors was 8.2% compared with 4.8% in the noncancer participants. SPD was significantly associated with higher use of all care types except dental care in cancer survivors. Cancer survivors with SPD spent $4431 (95% confidence interval, $3419-$5443) more than survivors without SPD on medical services each year, whereas this extra expenditure associated with SPD for participants without cancer was $2685 (95% confidence interval, $2099-$3271). CONCLUSIONS: In a national representative sample of cancer survivors, SPD was found to be associated with higher health care use and medical expenditures. Distress screening and psychosocial care in cancer survivors may help reduce the economic burden of cancer in the United States.
BACKGROUND: Serious psychological distress (SPD) is associated with adverse health outcomes such as poor quality of life and shorter survival in cancer survivors, but to the authors' knowledge, the relationship between SPD and health care use and medical expenditures is not clear. METHODS: A total of 4326 cancer survivors and 57,109 noncancer participants were identified from the 2008 through 2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationwide population-based survey, and their psychological distress was assessed with the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (SPD defined by a score ≥13). The association between SPD and use and medical expenditures of various types of health care (office-based, outpatient, hospital inpatient, emergency department, dental, and prescriptions) was examined using a 2-part modeling approach that adjusted for demographic, personal, and comorbidity factors. The marginal effects of SPD on health care use and expenditures were calculated for cancer survivors and were compared with those of noncancer participants. RESULTS: The weighted prevalence of SPD in cancer survivors was 8.2% compared with 4.8% in the noncancer participants. SPD was significantly associated with higher use of all care types except dental care in cancer survivors. Cancer survivors with SPD spent $4431 (95% confidence interval, $3419-$5443) more than survivors without SPD on medical services each year, whereas this extra expenditure associated with SPD for participants without cancer was $2685 (95% confidence interval, $2099-$3271). CONCLUSIONS: In a national representative sample of cancer survivors, SPD was found to be associated with higher health care use and medical expenditures. Distress screening and psychosocial care in cancer survivors may help reduce the economic burden of cancer in the United States.
Authors: Ronald C Kessler; Jennifer Greif Green; Michael J Gruber; Nancy A Sampson; Evelyn Bromet; Marius Cuitan; Toshi A Furukawa; Oye Gureje; Hristo Hinkov; Chi-Yi Hu; Carmen Lara; Sing Lee; Zeina Mneimneh; Landon Myer; Mark Oakley-Browne; Jose Posada-Villa; Rajesh Sagar; Maria Carmen Viana; Alan M Zaslavsky Journal: Int J Methods Psychiatr Res Date: 2010-06 Impact factor: 4.035
Authors: Laura P Forsythe; Erin E Kent; Kathryn E Weaver; Natasha Buchanan; Nikki A Hawkins; Juan L Rodriguez; A Blythe Ryerson; Julia H Rowland Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2013-04-22 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Brad J Zebrack; Michael A Zevon; Norman Turk; Rajaram Nagarajan; John Whitton; Leslie L Robison; Lonnie K Zeltzer Journal: Pediatr Blood Cancer Date: 2007-07 Impact factor: 3.838
Authors: Melissa S Y Thong; Floortje Mols; Adrian A Kaptein; Dorry Boll; Caroline Vos; Johanna M A Pijnenborg; Lonneke V van de Poll-Franse; Nicole P M Ezendam Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2018-09-13 Impact factor: 3.603
Authors: Gabrielle B Rocque; Richard A Taylor; Aras Acemgil; Xuelin Li; Maria Pisu; Kelly Kenzik; Bradford E Jackson; Karina I Halilova; Wendy Demark-Wahnefried; Karen Meneses; Yufeng Li; Michelle Y Martin; Carol Chambless; Nedra Lisovicz; Mona Fouad; Edward E Partridge; Elizabeth A Kvale Journal: J Natl Compr Canc Netw Date: 2016-04 Impact factor: 11.908
Authors: Sun Hee Rim; K Robin Yabroff; Sabitha Dasari; Xuesong Han; Kristin Litzelman; Donatus U Ekwueme Journal: Prev Med Date: 2019-03-16 Impact factor: 4.018
Authors: Sun Hee Rim; Gery P Guy; K Robin Yabroff; Kathleen A McGraw; Donatus U Ekwueme Journal: Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res Date: 2016-10-06 Impact factor: 2.217
Authors: Mette L Olesen; Merete K Hansen; Helena Hansson; Bent Ottesen; Klaus K Andersen; Vibeke Zoffmann Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2017-10-23 Impact factor: 3.603