Social Support, social ties, and cognitive function of women with breast cancer: findings from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Life and Longevity After Cancer (LILAC) Study

Purpose This study examined associations between self-reported cognitive functioning and social support as well as social ties among women with breast cancer. Methods The study included 3351 women from the Women’s Health Initiative Life and Longevity After Cancer cohort who were diagnosed with breas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Supportive care in cancer 2023-01, Vol.31 (1), p.48, Article 48
Main Authors: Yang, Yesol, McLaughlin, Eric M., Naughton, Michelle J., Lustberg, Maryam B., Nolan, Timiya S., Kroenke, Candyce H., Weitlauf, Julie C., Saquib, Nazmus, Shadyab, Aladdin H., Follis, Shawna, Pan, Kathy, Paskett, Electra D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms - psychology
Child
Cognition
Cognitive ability
Divorce
Female
Humans
Longevity
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Nursing
Nursing Research
Oncology
Pain Medicine
Questionnaires
Rehabilitation Medicine
Social Support
Women's Health
Womens health
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Summary:Purpose This study examined associations between self-reported cognitive functioning and social support as well as social ties among women with breast cancer. Methods The study included 3351 women from the Women’s Health Initiative Life and Longevity After Cancer cohort who were diagnosed with breast cancer stages I–III. Social support was assessed using a modified Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social Support Survey, and marital status was obtained from the baseline questionnaire. We also assessed social ties (e.g., number of friends, relatives, living children) and cognitive function (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function [FACT-COG]) on the year-1-follow up questionnaire. Multivariable quantile regression was used to estimate the changes in median cognitive scores. Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to assess the association of cognitive function with social ties. Results The majority of participants were non-Hispanic White (93.3%), presently married (49%), with at least a 4-year college degree (53.2%), and had been diagnosed with localized breast cancer (79%). A 10-point higher social support score correlated to a 0.32 higher (better) median cognitive score ( p  
ISSN:0941-4355
1433-7339
1433-7339
DOI:10.1007/s00520-022-07505-5