TABLE 1. Number and percentage of cancer survivors and persons without a history of cancer, aged 18–64 years (N = 123,771), by demographic characteristics — Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), United States, 2011–2016.
| Characteristic | Cancer survivors* (n = 4,753) % (95% CI) | Persons without a history of cancer* (n = 119,018) % (95% CI) | Chi-square p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Age group at interview (yrs)
| |||
| 18–39 |
15.9 (14.3–17.5) |
48.9 (48.1–49.6) |
<0.001 |
| 40–49 |
19.6 (17.9–21.4) |
20.5 (20.0–21.0) |
|
| 50–64 |
64.6 (62.2–66.8) |
30.6 (29.9–31.3) |
|
|
Sex
| |||
| Men |
34.5 (32.1–37.0) |
49.9 (49.5–50.2) |
<0.001 |
| Women |
65.5 (63.1–68.0) |
50.1 (49.7–50.5) |
|
|
Race/Ethnicity
| |||
| White, non-Hispanic |
76.5 (74.4–78.4) |
61.2 (59.2–63.1) |
<0.001 |
| Black, non-Hispanic |
8.7 (7.6–9.9) |
12.5 (11.3–13.8) |
|
| All other races/ethnicities |
14.9 (13.1–16.8) |
26.3 (24.3–28.3) |
|
|
Marital status
| |||
| Married |
60.6 (57.8–63.2) |
51.4 (50.5–52.3) |
<0.001 |
| Not married† |
39.5 (36.8–42.2) |
48.6 (47.7–49.5) |
|
|
Education
| |||
| Less than high school graduate |
10.9 (9.6–12.3) |
14.1 (13.5–14.8) |
<0.001 |
| High school graduate |
26.4 (24.2–28.7) |
27.5 (26.7–28.3) |
|
| Some college or more |
62.7 (60.3–65.1) |
58.4 (57.4–59.5) |
|
|
Health insurance
| |||
| Any private |
71.9 (69.7–74.1) |
71.3 (70.1- 72.5) |
<0.001 |
| Public only§ |
19.2 (17.2–21.3) |
13.1 (12.3–13.9) |
|
| Uninsured |
8.9 (7.5–10.5) |
15.6 (14.8–16.5) |
|
|
Family income
| |||
| Poor (<100% FPL) |
14.4 (13–15.8) |
12.9 (14.3–16.1) |
0.0604 |
| Near poor and low income (100%–200% FPL) |
15.5 (14.1–17.0) |
16.5 (17.4–18.6) |
|
| Middle and high income (>200% FPL) |
70.1 (68.0–72.2) |
70.6 (65.6–68.1) |
|
|
Employment status
| |||
| Full-time |
54.2 (51.7–56.6) |
64.2 (45.3–46.7) |
<0.001 |
| Part-time |
4.8 (3.8–6.0) |
5.7 (4.0–4.4) |
|
| Not working |
41.0 (38.7–43.4) |
30.2 (49.2–50.5) |
|
|
MEPS priority conditions
¶
| |||
| Zero or one |
47.8 (45.3–50.3) |
75.4 (74.8–76.0) |
<0.001 |
| Two |
20.6 (18.8–22.5) |
12.8 (12.4–13.1) |
|
| Three or more |
31.6 (29.2–34.2) |
11.9 (11.4–12.3) |
|
|
Yrs since last cancer treatment** | |||
| <5 |
45.5 (41.8–50.0) |
N/A |
N/A |
| ≥5 or never treated/Missing |
54.2 (50.0–58.2) |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Out-of-pocket health care expenditure
| |||
| % with high out-of-pocket burden†† |
2.3 (1.8–2.9) |
1.0 (0.9–1.1) |
<0.001 |
| Mean (95% CI), $ |
1,158 (1,051–1,265) |
564 (546–583) |
<0.001 |
| Median (IRQ), $ | 488 (1,271) | 135 (554) | <0.001 |
Abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; FPL = federal poverty level; IQR = interquartile range; N/A = not applicable.
* Sample sizes were unweighted.
† Not married included widowed, divorced, separated, or never married.
§ Public insurance included Medicare, Medicaid, State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and/or other public hospital/physician coverage. TRICARE and CHAMPVA were treated as private coverage, as were employer-based, union-based, and other private insurance.
¶ Conditions included arthritis, asthma, diabetes, emphysema, heart disease (angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack, or other heart condition or disease), high cholesterol, hypertension, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention deficit disorder, and stroke, and excluded cancer.
** Years since last cancer treatment top-coded at ≥20 by MEPS. This question was only asked of cancer survivors who participated in MEPS Experiences with Cancer Survey in 2011 or 2016.
†† High health care out-of-pocket burden was defined as having annual out-of-pocket expenditures on health care services >20% of annual family income.