Longitudinal trends in hospital admissions for physical health diseases
in survivors of childhood cancer in Western Australia: a
population-based linked data study
Abstract
Background. Population-level estimates of hospitalisations for
physical disease in recently treated populations of childhood cancer
survivors are limited. In the Australian context, the long-term effects
of childhood cancer on survivors and the health system are unclear. We
examined the trends in primary hospitalisations for physical disease in
a whole-population cohort of 5-year childhood cancer survivors (CCS)
diagnosed in Western Australia (WA) from 1982-2014. Methods. We
examined hospitalisation records for 2938 CCS and 24 792 matched
‘non-CCS’ controls, discharged from 1987-2019. Andersen-Gill Cox
regression models for recurrent events were used to examine
hospitalisation risk. Mean cumulative counts were used to examine
hospitalisation burden by time since diagnosis and attained age.
Negative binomial regression models were used to examine the annual
percentage change (APC) in hospitalisations. Results. We
identified a higher risk of hospitalisation for all-cause (HR=1.8,
95%CI 1.6-2.0) physical disease in CCS than controls. Compared to
controls, hospitalisation risk was highest for second malignant
neoplasms (HR=13.2, 95%CI 9.9-17.6) and blood diseases (HR=5.6, 95%CI
1.8-17.1) in CCS. Characteristics associated with higher hospitalisation
rates included female gender, diagnosis with malignant bone tumours,
cancer diagnosis age between 5-9 years, multiple childhood cancer
diagnoses, higher comorbidity, high socio-economic deprivation, and
geographic remoteness. The APC in hospitalisations differed between
groups (CCS APC=-3.8%; controls APC=2.4%, p<0.05).
Conclusions. A higher risk of hospitalisation for physical
disease was observed in CCS compared with children not diagnosed with
cancer, with the risk continuing to increase up to 30 years
post-diagnosis. These findings emphasise the need for continued
specialised care and additional research to understand the unmet needs
in this population.