Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33256726›Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2020

Disability, psychological distress and quality of life in relation to cancer diagnosis and cancer type: population-based Australian study of 22,505 cancer survivors and 244,000 people without cancer.

Grace Joshy, Joanne Thandrayen, Bogda Koczwara, Phyllis Butow, Rebekah Laidsaar-Powell, Nicole Rankin, Karen Canfell, John Stubbs, Paul Grogan, Louise Bailey and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
67citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
5.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

67 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Palliative care interventions for thoracic cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis identifying the core elements.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Accounting for unmet needs resulting from cancer-related cognitive impairment.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Factors associated with health-related quality of life in survivors of childhood-onset and adult-onset cancer compared to controls.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Comorbidity patterns and health-related quality of life in a cohort of Australian women cancer survivors.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  17. Functional limitations among adult cancer survivors in the United States.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Grace JoshyNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Mills Road, Acton, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia. Grace.Joshy@anu.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0002-0718-6368
Joanne ThandrayenNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Mills Road, Acton, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
Bogda KoczwaraFlinders University and Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Phyllis ButowCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Medicine, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Rebekah Laidsaar-PowellCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Medicine, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Nicole RankinCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Medicine, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Karen CanfellCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Medicine, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
John StubbsCanSpeak Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Paul GroganCancer Research Division, Cancer Council New South Wales, Kings Cross, NSW, Australia.
Louise BaileyPrimary Care Collaborative Cancer Clinical Trials Group Community Advisory Group, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Amelia YazidjoglouNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Mills Road, Acton, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
Emily BanksNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Mills Road, Acton, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.
Australian National University · AUThe University of Sydney · AUCancer Council NSW · AUCooperative Trials Group for Neuro-Oncology · AUFlinders University · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImproved survival means that cancer is increasingly becoming a chronic disease. Understanding and improving functional outcomes are critical to optimising survivorship. We quantified physical and mental health-related outcomes in people with versus without cancer, according to cancer type.

methodsQuestionnaire data from an Australian population-based cohort study (45 and Up Study (n = 267,153)) were linked to cancer registration data to ascertain cancer diagnoses up to enrolment. Modified Poisson regression estimated age- and sex-adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) for adverse person-centred outcomes-severe physical functional limitations (disability), moderate/high psychological distress and fair/poor quality of life (QoL)-in participants with versus without cancer, for 13 cancer types.

resultsCompared to participants without cancer (n = 244,000), cancer survivors (n = 22,505) had greater disability (20.6% versus 12.6%, respectively, PR = 1.28, 95%CI = (1.25-1.32)), psychological (22.2% versus 23.5%, 1.05 (1.02-1.08)) and poor/fair QoL (15.2% versus 10.2%; 1.28 (1.24-1.32)). The outcomes varied by cancer type, being worse for multiple myeloma (PRs versus participants without cancer for disability 3.10, 2.56-3.77; distress 1.53, 1.20-1.96; poor/fair QoL 2.40, 1.87-3.07), lung cancer (disability 2.81, 2.50-3.15; distress 1.67, 1.46-1.92; poor/fair QoL 2.53, 2.21-2.91) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (disability 1.56, 1.37-1.78; distress 1.20, 1.05-1.36; poor/fair QoL 1.66, 1.44-1.92) and closer to those in people without cancer for breast cancer (disability 1.23, 1.16-1.32; distress 0.95, 0.90-1.01; poor/fair QoL 1.15, 1.05-1.25), prostate cancer (disability 1.11, 1.04-1.19; distress 1.09, 1.02-1.15; poor/fair QoL 1.15, 1.08-1.23) and melanoma (disability 1.02, 0.94-1.10; distress 0.96, 0.89-1.03; poor/fair QoL 0.92, 0.83-1.01). Outcomes were worse with recent diagnosis and treatment and advanced stage. Physical disability in cancer survivors was greater in all population subgroups examined and was a major contributor to adverse distress and QoL outcomes.

conclusionsPhysical disability, distress and reduced QoL are common after cancer and vary according to cancer type suggesting priority areas for research, and care and support.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overAustraliaCancer SurvivorsCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsQuality of LifeStress, PsychologicalSurveys and QuestionnairesSurvivorshipAustralianCancer survivorCohortDisabilityPsychological distressQuality of lifeSurvivorship

Identifiers

PMID33256726
PMCPMC7708114
OpenAlexW3109688571

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.