Young cancer survivors at higher risk for hospitalization

(HealthDay)—Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors (aged 15 to 39 years) have an increased risk for inpatient hospitalization, according to a study published online Jan. 20 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Chelsea Anderson, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and colleagues examined the risk for inpatient hospitalizations among AYA cancer survivors (at least two years from diagnosis; 6,330 patients), their siblings (12,924 individuals), and an age- and sex-matched comparison cohort (18,171 individuals). Hospitalizations were identified from statewide discharge records from 1996 to 2017 in the Utah Population Database.

The researchers found that compared with the matched population-based cohort, AYA cancer survivors had a higher risk for a first hospitalization (hazard ratio, 1.93). For survivors of leukemia, central nervous system tumors, colorectal cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and breast cancer, the risk was most elevated (hazard ratios, 4.76, 3.45, 2.83, 2.76, and 2.37, respectively). Relative to the comparison cohort, survivors also had an increased rate of total hospitalizations (rate ratio, 2.05). In analyses comparing survivors with their siblings, the patterns were generally similar.

"Future studies may be warranted to investigate associations between specific cancer therapies or lifestyle factors and hospitalization outcomes, and to identify strategies to reduce the burden of hospitalization among AYA cancer survivors," the authors write.

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