Cumulative burden of chronic health conditions among adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancer: Identification of vulnerable groups at key medical transitions

The cumulative burden of chronic health conditions as childhood cancer survivors transition to adult health care and insurance systems is unknown. We estimated the cumulative burden (N = 4612 survivors, 625 controls) in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort. At 18 and 26 years old, survivors experienced (per 100 individuals) an average of 22.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 17.2-27.4) and 40.3 (95% CI: 34.8-45.8) disabling conditions versus 3.5 (95% CI: 2.0-5.0) and 5.7 (95% CI: 3.7-7.7) in controls, and 128.7 (95% CI: 119.5-137.8) and 240.5 (95% CI: 229.9-251.0) lower severity conditions versus 12.4 (95% CI: 8.9-16.0) and 51.3 (95% CI: 43.1-59.4) in controls. Survivors experience a high cumulative burden at key health care transition ages, underscoring the need to optimize access to care.