Aging often involves gradual declines in physical and mental abilities, along with the development of chronic diseases. One way researchers study aging is by counting aging-related health problems that build up over time, or deficit accumulation. Cancer and its treatment are known to accelerate aging and increase deficit accumulation. In addition, neighborhood deprivation, which reflects area-level characteristics such as income, employment, and housing quality, may further worsen these deficits. However, the combined effect of cancer and neighborhood deprivation on aging is not well understood.
In a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Eunji Choi, assistant professor of population health sciences, and colleagues investigated the relationship between neighborhood deprivation and longitudinal changes in deficit accumulation among older female breast cancer survivors compared with a non-cancer control group. Cancer survivors were aged 60 and older, and the control group was matched to survivors based on age, racial or ethnic group, education, and recruitment location.
Researchers observed that participants living in more deprived neighborhoods had a higher risk of clinically meaningful increases in deficit accumulation. These patterns differed by cancer and treatment status. Breast cancer survivors who received chemotherapy living in more deprived areas had a 20 percent higher incidence of deficit accumulation within one year, while survivors who did not receive chemotherapy and non-cancer controls in more deprived areas showed the largest differences by four years. This pattern suggests that the harmful effects of chemotherapy on aging may be intensified, especially in the short term, by poorer neighborhood quality.
“The significance of the study underscores that both neighborhood environment and cancer treatment interact to shape aging trajectories,” said Dr. Choi. “This highlights the need to integrate clinical and public health strategies into survivorship care and healthy aging for cancer survivors.”
- Highlights