Table 1. Cohort Characteristics by Cancer Diagnosis and Sitea.
| Characteristic | HNC | Other Cancer | Difference (95% CI)b | No Cancer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (95% CI), y | 65.0 (63.1 to 66.8) | 65.4 (64.9 to 65.8) | −0.37 (−2.23 to 1.49) | 45.1 (44.9 to 45.3) |
| Educational level | ||||
| Less than high school | 41 459 (13.7) | 1 216 400 (9.5) | 4.11 (−5.19 to 13.4) | 30 088 669 (14.4) |
| High school graduate | 122 366 (40.3) | 3 570 902 (28.0) | 12.29 (−1.28 to 25.9) | 58 067 550 (27.9) |
| Beyond high school | 139 671 (46.0) | 7 951 655 (62.4) | −16.4 (−29.4 to −3.45) | 120 304 436 (57.7) |
| Marriage | ||||
| Married | 160 172 (61.2) | 6 217 582 (63.3) | −2.08 (−10.5 to 6.33) | 114 302 813 (54.1) |
| Single | 16 486 (6.30) | 691 278 (7.04) | −0.74 (−4.46 to 2.99) | 56 152 902 (26.6) |
| Widowed or separated | 84 980 (32.5) | 2 913 357 (29.7) | 2.82 (−4.7 to 10.3) | 40 963 539 (19.4) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| White | 167 902 (64.2) | 7 202 115 (73.3) | −9.15 (−16.0 to −2.32) | 108 803 255 (51.5) |
| Black | 25 653 (9.8) | 508 835 (5.2) | 4.62 (0.6 to 8.65) | 24 793 134 (11.7) |
| Asian | 55 225 (21.1) | 1 669 830 (17) | 4.11 (−1.87 to 10.1) | 47 786 796 (22.6) |
| Hispanic | 12 851 (4.9) | 392 875 (4) | 0.91 (−1.62 to 3.44) | 2 8751 347 (13.6) |
| Other | 0 | 48 339 (0.5) | −0.49 (−0.68 to −0.31) | 1 284 949 (0.6) |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 168 716 (64.5) | 4 622 219 (47.1) | 17.4 (10.1 to 24.7) | 101 923 275 (48.2) |
| Female | 92 916 (35.5) | 5 199 776 (52.9) | −17.4 (−24.7 to −10.1) | 109 496 207 (51.8) |
| Region | ||||
| Northeast | 44 315 (16.9) | 1 871 150 (19.1) | −2.11 (−7.45 to 3.22) | 39528045 (18.7) |
| Midwest | 56 326 (21.5) | 2 112 840 (21.5) | 0.02 (−6.63 to 6.66) | 46 812 323 (22.1) |
| South | 111 327 (42.6) | 3 743 322 (38.1) | 4.44 (−4.46 to 13.3) | 76 575 098 (36.2) |
| West | 49 666 (19) | 2 094 772 (21.3) | −2.34 (−8.44 to 3.75) | 48 503 924 (22.9) |
| Insurance | ||||
| Any private | 162 808 (62.2) | 7 084 104 (72.1) | −9.90 (−17.1 to −2.66) | 149 263 083 (70.6) |
| Public only | 91 952 (35.1) | 2 483 634 (25.3) | 9.86 (3.29 to 16.4) | 32 078 694 (15.2) |
| Uninsured | 6871 (2.6) | 254 256 (2.6) | 0.04 (−2.18 to 2.25) | 30 077 705 (14.2) |
| Health status | ||||
| Poor | 36 906 (14.1) | 744 480 (7.6) | −0.45 (−0.59 to −0.31)c | 6 794 135 (3.2) |
| Fair | 59 611 (22.7) | 1 536 531 (15.6) | 20 594 884 (9.7) | |
| Good | 80 197 (30.6) | 2 971 434 (30.2) | 55 862 747 (26.4) | |
| Very good | 67 862 (25.9) | 2 842 034 (28.9) | 68 962 565 (32.6) | |
| Excellent | 17 696 (6.7) | 1 741 264 (17.7) | 59 190 761 (28) | |
| Mental health status | ||||
| Poor | 5951 (2.3) | 165 708 (1.7) | −0.29 (−0.42 to −0.17)c | 2704 985 (1.3) |
| Fair | 30 896 (11.8) | 690 528 (7) | 10 978 514 (5.2) | |
| Good | 87 492 (33.4) | 2 658 537 (27) | 48 464 901 (22.9) | |
| Very good | 79415 (30.3) | 2 975 554 (30.2) | 62 886 943 (29.7) | |
| Excellent | 58 555 (22.3) | 3 348 996 (34) | 86 366 133 (40.9) | |
| van Walraven Index, mean (95% CI)d | 4.95 (4.46 to 5.43) | 3.41 (3.30 to 3.52) | 1.54 (1.05 to 2.02) | 0.37 (0.35 to 0.38) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Indexe | ||||
| 0 | 22 340 (7.8) | 3 687 823 (34.3) | 0.89 (0.67 to 1.10)c | 169 933 926 (80.7) |
| 1 | 7937 (2.8) | 1 144 979 (10.7) | 32 321 027 (15.4) | |
| 2 | 144 330 (50.4) | 3 547 635 (33) | 5 701 383 (2.7) | |
| ≥3 | 111 683 (39) | 2 367 272 (22) | 2 512 772 (1.2) | |
| Total income, median (95% CI), $f | 24 056 (21 478 to 26 633) | 29 698 (28 724 to 30 672) | −5642 (−7951 to −3334) | 27 979 (27 507 to 28 452) |
| Poverty levelg | ||||
| Poor | 28 824 (11) | 769 803 (7.8) | −0.24(−0.41 to −0.08)c | 24 146 405 (11.4) |
| Near poor | 15 252 (5.8) | 441 435 (4.5) | 8 742 755 (4.1) | |
| Low income | 39 859 (15.2) | 1 291 199 (13.1) | 27 984 171 (13.2) | |
| Middle income | 80 357 (30.7) | 2 667 237 (27.2) | 65 129 261 (30.8) | |
| High income | 97 339 (37.2) | 4 652 320 (47.4) | 8 5416 889 (40.4) | |
| Employment | ||||
| Employed | 97 628 (37.1) | 3 805 528 (38.6) | −1.54 (−7.94 to 4.85) | 144 111 467 (68.2) |
| Unemployed | 165 574 (62.9) | 6 044 143 (61.4) | 1.54 (−4.85 to 7.94) | 67 278 768 (31.8) |
| Total medical expenses, median (95% CI), $f | 8384 (6717 to 10 052) | 5978 (5770 to 6186) | 2407 (795 to 4017) | 1048 (1025 to 1072) |
| Out-of-pocket medical expenses, median (95% CI), $f | 929 (775 to 1084) | 918 (885 to 951) | 11 (−165 to 187) | 238 (231 to 245) |
| Out-of-pocket expenses per income, median (95% CI), % | 3.93 (3.21 to 4.65) | 3.07 (2.91 to 3.22) | 0.86 (0.06 to 1.66) | 0.87 (0.85 to 0.89) |
Abbreviation: HNC, head and neck cancer.
a
Data are presented as number (percentage) of patients unless otherwise indicated.
b
Differences are reported between HNC and other cancer groups. Negative differences imply a higher value for the other cancer group.
c
For ordinal variables, values were converted to numeric values and differences in the mean are reported.
d
The range of possible scores on the van Walraven Index is −19 to 89; higher scores indicate more comorbidities.
e
For the Charlson Comorbidity Index, the range of possible scores is 0 to 40; higher scores indicate more comorbidities.
f
Income and expenses are reported as the median of annualized values.
g
Poverty levels are defined in the Data Source and Definitions subsection of the Methods section.