The impact of job status on quality of life: general population versus long-term cancer survivors.
OBJECTIVE
Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recently, survival rates of cancer patients have been improving. Many patients are diagnosed with cancer at an age when their career is an important component of their lives, and job status can have a significant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this study was to determine the association of job status and HRQOL with respect to particular situations, such as long-term cancer survival and the presence of comorbid conditions, as compared with the general population.


METHODS
Data on a total of 27,089 eligible participants from the 2007-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used in the study. To identify factors associated with the HRQOL of long-term cancer survivors, multiple linear regression analysis was performed. HRQOL was measured by the EuroQol five-dimension instrument (EQ-5D).


RESULTS
People who once had a job and lost it because of health issues have been shown to have a lower EQ-5D (β =-8.997, p < 0.0001) than those who still have their jobs. Although long-term cancer survivors with comorbid conditions showed only a trend toward a lower EQ-5D, in a subgroup analysis, those in the 'Job loss due to health issue' group had a significantly lower EQ-5D (β =-8.739, p < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
There was a significant association between job status and HRQOL in study participants. This study suggests that individuals who are long-term cancer survivors or have comorbid conditions need particular attention, and a specialized job rehabilitation program should be developed.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Seo Yoon
SY
Lee
Department of Public Health Administration, Namseoul University, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea.
Sun Jung
SJ
Kim
Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Jaeyong
J
Shin
Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Kyu-Tae
KT
Han
Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Eun-Cheol
EC
Park
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011788:Quality of Life; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult