Morbidity, life style and psychosocial situation in cancer survivors aged 60-69 years: results from The Nord-Tr？ndelag Health Study (The HUNT-II Study)

Among 9,089 individuals aged 60-69 who participated in HUNT-2, 334 had been diagnosed with invasive primary cancer from 1 month to 42 years before HUNT-2 according to CRN and self-report. An overall random sample of controls without cancer five times larger than the sample of cases (N = 1,670) were drawn from the parent cohort.The cancer sample comprised 128 STS and 206 LTS. For most variables no significant differences were observed between LTS and STS. LTS were significantly more women, and cases with gynaecological cancer, with physical impairment and more thyroid diseases compared to STS. When comparing all the survivors with controls, the survivors showed significantly higher rate of pensioning, decreased self-rated health, more physical impairment and thyroid diseases, daily use of medication and psychotropics and higher level of anxiety and Framingham Risk score. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increasing age, being female, physical impairment and thyroid diseases all were significantly associated with being survivor versus controls.STS and LTS showed mostly similar situation. Compared to controls, the survivors reported somewhat poorer physical and mental health, but these differences were of doubtful clinical significance.In Norway 74% of those who are diagnosed with cancer, are 60 years or older [1], and the life expectancy is 78.2 years in men and 82.7 years in women [2]. Elderly Norwegians who get cancer, therefore often have a considerable lifetime ahead, and studies of their health and psychosocial situation are of substantial interest for prevention of morbidity and possible side effects of treatment. Cancer survivorship can be seen as an experience with different phases [3]. The concept may comprehend a stage of living with cancer with or without "treatment" or management [4], or concern patients with cancer "that is controlled with ongoing or periodic treatment" [5]. In most cases five years beyond diagnosis [6] or from end of