Young adult cancer survivors have more GP-recorded health conditions

A Dutch retrospective cohort study compared 3,347 cancer survivors diagnosed at ages 18–39 with 10,041 matched controls using linked cancer registry and primary care data. Survivors consulted general practice more often for most health-condition categories, with elevated rates reported up to 22 years after diagnosis.

Cohort included 3,347 survivors and 10,041 matched controls.
Survivors had 1.3 times the rate of GP consultations.
Malignancy-related conditions showed the largest relative increase.
Pregnancy-related consultations were less frequent among survivors.

Researchers linked Netherlands Cancer Registry data with routinely recorded general practice data to examine health conditions among people diagnosed with cancer at ages 18–39 between 1999 and 2020. The retrospective cohort included 3,347 survivors and 10,041 matched controls, with at least one year of follow-up. Negative binomial regression was used to compare GP-recorded conditions and explore factors associated with consultations among survivors.

Survivors were 1.3 times as likely as controls to consult a GP for any health condition. Relative increases ranged from 1.1 times for musculoskeletal and eye conditions to 13.6 times for malignancy-related conditions. By contrast, survivors were 30% less likely to consult for pregnancy-related conditions. Among survivors, consultation for any condition was more likely in women, those older at diagnosis, those with longer follow-up, and those diagnosed more recently.

The findings indicate sustained differences in primary care use after cancer in this Dutch population, supporting attention to survivors’ health needs in general practice. However, the study measured GP-recorded consultations, not the prevalence of all health problems, and observational associations do not establish causes. Results may not generalize beyond the Netherlands or to survivors who do not seek primary care.

In practice

For Dutch survivors diagnosed with cancer at ages 18–39, the study found higher GP consultation rates for most health-condition categories compared with matched controls, including up to 22 years after diagnosis. This supports recognizing that primary care needs may persist beyond cancer treatment and that malignancy-related concerns feature prominently in recorded consultations. The findings do not establish that cancer caused each condition or define a specific screening or monitoring schedule; they reflect recorded consultations in an observational Dutch cohort and may not generalize to other health systems.

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Source

BMC Public Health: Higher general practice-reported health condition rates among adolescent and young adult (18−39 years) cancer survivors up to 22 years after diagnosis in the Netherlands: a retrospective cohort study ↗

This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.