Table 1.
Characteristics of parents and their children with and without cancer or brain tumors
| Casea | Comparisona | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| % / Mean(SD) | % / Mean(SD) | P-value | |
| Number of participants (%) | 73 (35.4%) | 133 (64.6%) | |
|
| |||
| Parent characteristics | |||
| Sociodemographic factors | |||
| Age, mean (SD) | 41.03 (6.48) | 42.82 (5.92) | 0.05 |
| Gender, % | 0.4 | ||
| Male | 8.2% | 12.0% | |
| Female | 91.8% | 88.0% | |
| Marital/Partner status, % | 0.1 | ||
| Partner/married | 93.1% | 97.7% | |
| No partner/unmarried | 6.9% | 2.3% | |
| Race, % | 0.38 | ||
| White | 94.5% | 97.0% | |
| Non-white | 5.5% | 3.0% | |
| Highest education level achieved, % | 0.004 | ||
| Some high school or less/ High school graduate or GED | 13.7% | 4.5% | |
| Vocational college or some college | 34.3% | 19.5% | |
| College degree | 30.1% | 42.9% | |
| Professional or graduate degree | 21.9% | 33.1% | |
| Current employment status, % | 0.74 | ||
| Full-time work outside of the home | 45.2% | 46.6% | |
| Part-time work outside of the home | 35.6% | 38.4% | |
| Not working outside the home | 19.2% | 15.0% | |
| Relationship to child, % | 0.68 | ||
| Biological parent | 95.9% | 97.0% | |
| Adoptive/foster parent, stepparent, or grandparent | 4.1% | 3.0% | |
| Number of people in household, mean (SD) | 4.30 (1.15) | 4.26 (0.87) | 0.78 |
| Income, mean (SD) | 83,468 (44,866) | 122,406 (118,080) | 0.007 |
| Health behaviors | |||
| Smoking status, % | 0.002 | ||
| Non-smoker | 64.4% | 80.4% | |
| Current smoker | 17.8% | 3.8% | |
| Former smoker | 17.8% | 15.8% | |
| Alcohol consumption, % | 0.31 | ||
| Non-drinker | 11.0% | 5.3% | |
| Moderate drinker | 84.9% | 89.4% | |
| Risky drinker | 4.1% | 5.3% | |
| Exercise, % | 0.02 | ||
| Inactive | 4.1% | 1.5% | |
| Active-irregular | 49.3% | 32.3% | |
| Active-regular | 46.6% | 66.2% | |
| Diet, % | 0.35 | ||
| Meets national guidelines | 24.7% | 30.8% | |
| Does not meet national guidelines | 75.3% | 69.2% | |
| Body Mass Index | 28.31 (6.59) | 27.01 (5.57) | 0.14 |
| Waist to Hip Ratio | 0.85 (0.07) | 1.01 (1.17) | 0.24 |
| Sleep, % | <0.0001 | ||
| Poor sleep quality (in the past month)b | 53.4% | 22.6% | |
| Good sleep quality (in the past month)b | 46.6% | 77.4% | |
| Aging-related disease | 0.08 | ||
| Presence of aging related disease | 43.8% | 31.6% | |
| No presence of aging related disease | 56.2% | 68.4% | |
| Psychosocial factors | |||
| Negative life events, mean (SD)c | 10.23 (10.56) | 4.50 (5.21) | <0.0001 |
| Social support and stress, mean (SD)d | |||
| Total social support | 67.56 (18.84) | 73.58 (16.42) | 0.02 |
| Total social stress | 21.48 (12.48) | 21.66 (12.59) | 0.92 |
| Stress | |||
| High stress (C-SOSI ≥ 21) | 71.2% | 33.1% | <0.0001 |
| Low stress (C-SOSI < 21) | 28.8% | 66.9% | |
| Symptoms of stress, mean (SD)e | 37.29 (24.07) | 18.13 (13.97) | <0.0001 |
| Depression | 5.37 (5.39) | 1.38 (2.08) | <0.0001 |
| Anger | 6.85 (5.21) | 4.10 (3.61) | <0.0001 |
| Muscle tension | 8.23 (7.12) | 3.45 (4.42) | <0.0001 |
| Sympathetic arousal | 7.86 (6.36) | 4.53 (4.46) | <0.0001 |
| Upper respiratory | 3.44 (4.25) | 2.29 (3.44) | 0.04 |
| Cognitive disorganization | 2.64 (2.93) | 1.59 (2.13) | 0.005 |
| Cardiopulmonary Arousal | 1.53 (2.26) | 0.38 (1.03) | <0.0001 |
| Neurological/GI | 1.36 (2.10) | 0.41 (1.11) | <0.0001 |
| Child characteristics | |||
| Sociodemographic factors | |||
| Age, mean (SD) | 10.00 (4.75) | 9.41 (3.97) | 0.35 |
| Gender, % | 0.36 | ||
| Male | 54.8% | 48.1% | |
| Female | 45.2% | 51.9% | |
| Health characteristics | |||
| Diagnosis, % | |||
| Leukemia/lymphoma | 49.3% | ||
| CNS tumor | 34.3% | ||
| Non-CNS tumor | 16.4% | ||
| Treatment status, % | |||
| Active/maintenance | 39.7% | ||
| Off treatment | 60.3% | ||
| Time since diagnosis, % | |||
| <1 year | 23.3% | ||
| 1–2 years | 16.4% | ||
| 3–4 years | 26.0% | ||
| 5–9 years | 23.3% | ||
| 10 or more years | 11.0% | ||
| Type of treatment, %† | |||
| Chemotherapy | 89.0% | ||
| Radiation | 21.9% | ||
| Surgery | 49.3% | ||
| Transplant | 8.2% | ||
| Had 1 or more treatment complications | 75.3% | ||
| Had a recurrence of cancer | 12.3% | ||
| Symptom severityf | 2.58 (0.97) | ||
| Activity limitationg | 56.2% | ||
| Psychosocial problemsh | 17.8% | 3.8% | 0.0006 |
Note: “Case” refers to parents of children with cancer or a brain tumor.
“Comparison” refers to parents of children without cancer or a brain tumor.
Poor sleep quality was defined as having a total score greater than 5, measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
Higher scores (Life Events Questionnaire) indicate more negative life events
Higher scores (Duke Social Support and Stress Scale) indicate more support or stress
Higher scores (Calgary Symptoms of Stress Inventory score for the past week) indicate greater symptoms of stress
Higher scores indicate more severe symptoms
Child was considered to have an activity limitation if the parent indicated that the child was “limited or prevented in their ability to do the things most children of the same age can do.”
Child was considered to have psychosocial problems if they had a total score greater than 15 on the Columbia Impairment Scale
SD=standard deviation; CNS=Central Nervous System;
Note: categories are not mutually exclusive