Possible socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in quality of life in a cohort of breast cancer survivors

This paper describes the ethnic and socioeconomic correlates of functioning in a cohort of long-term nonrecurring breast cancer survivors. Participants (n = 804) in this study were women from the Health, Eating, Activity, and Lifestyle (HEAL) Study, a population-based, multicenter, multiethnic, prospective study of women newly diagnosed with in situ or Stages I to IIIA breast cancer. Measurements occurred at three timepoints following diagnosis. Outcomes included standardized measures of functioning (MOS SF-36). Overall, these long-term survivors reported values on two physical function subscales of the SF-36 slightly lower than population norms. Black women reported statistically significantly lower physical functioning (PF) scores (P = 0.01), compared with White and Hispanic women, but higher mental health (MH) scores (P