Income After Cancer Across Gender and Age Among Canadian Adolescents and Young Adults
Menée au Canada à partir de données portant sur 93 325 adolescents et jeunes adultes ayant survécu à un cancer (âge : 15-39 ans) et sur 765 240 témoins, cette étude analyse l'impact financier de la maladie en fonction du sexe et de l'âge au diagnostic
Background: Cancer in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) emerges during critical transitional phases, resulting in lasting effects on financial well-being. It remains uncertain whether cancer in AYAs exhibits differences in financial impact on income based on gender and diagnosis age over time.
Methods: We linked Canada’s national cancer registry to personal tax records to identify AYAs (15–39 years) diagnosed between 1994 and 2013. In the year before diagnosis, survivors were variable-ratio matched to 10 cancer-free individuals on several sociodemographic characteristics. Participants were followed longitudinally up to 10-years post-diagnosis or until 2015. Relative and absolute income changes were estimated using doubly-robust difference-in-differences. We categorized age into three groups: adolescents (15–17 years), emerging young adults (18–29 years), and young adults (30–39 years), reflecting the different AYA life stages. Analyses were stratified by gender and diagnosis age.
Results: There were 60,240 women and 33,085 men survivors matched to 490,645 and 274,595 cancer-free participants, respectively. Overall, men and women had 6.9% (95%CI: 5.1%–8.6%) and 4.5% (95%CI: 3.1%–5.8%) income reductions, respectively. Adolescent men had the largest reduction of 23.7% (95%CI: 1.9% to 40.6%), while a lack of significance was observed in women of the same age. Income was reduced for varying magnitudes and durations across the different intersections of gender and diagnosis age, with men experiencing longer periods of income reductions.
Conclusions: Cancer impacts income generation differently for AYA men and women, and at various diagnosis ages over time. Men, particularly younger men, are most vulnerable to income reductions.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute , résumé, 2025