| OPCs (n = 104) | MPCs (n = 271) | OPs (n = 166) | Difference between MPCs & OPCs | Difference between OPs & OPCs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | P value | P value | |
| Women | 80 (76.9) | 209 (77.1) | 104 (62.7) | 0.967 | 0.014 |
| Mean age, years (SD) | 75 (4.6) | 60 (5.3) | 77 (5.1) | – | – |
| Marital status | <0.005c | 0.957 | |||
| Married or living together | 65 (62.5) | 212 (78.5) | 101 (60.6) | ||
| Unmarried or divorced or widowed | 37 (35.6) | 57 (21.1) | 62 (37.3) | ||
| Other | 2 (1.9) | 1 (0.4) | 3 (1.8) | ||
| Age leaving school | <0.005c | 0.830 | |||
| ≤14 years | 24 (24) | 25 (9.4) | 36 (22.1) | ||
| 15–18 years | 44 (44) | 124 (46.8) | 69 (42.3) | ||
| ≥19 years | 32 (32) | 116 (43.8) | 58 (35.6) | ||
| Type of tumour | 0.529 | <0.001c | |||
| Breast | 78 (75) | 186 (68.6) | – | ||
| Gastrointestinal | 20 (19.2) | 60 (22.1) | – | ||
| Lung | – | 2 (0.7) | – | ||
| Prostate | 6 (5.8) | 23 (8.5) | – | ||
| Medication use (≥5) | 22 (21.2) | 39 (14.4) | 70 (42.2) | 0.112 | <0.001c |
| Distress (yes) | 42 (40.4) | 101 (37.3) | 28 (16.9) | 0.674 | <0.001c |
| Fatigue (yes) | 15 (14.4) | 33 (12.2) | 8 (4.8) | 0.689 | <0.010c |
| Functional status (dependent) | 66 (63.5) | 125 (46) | 80 (48.2) | <0.005c | 0.014 |
| Cancer stage | 0.024 | – | |||
| I & II | 79 (89.8) | 187 (78.9) | – | ||
| III & IV | 9 (10.2)a | 50 (21.1)b | – | ||
| Treatment type | 0.028 | – | |||
| Surgery only | 14 (14.9) | 44 (17.2) | – | ||
| Surgery and radiotherapy or hormone therapy or both | 15 (16) | 73 (28.5) | – | ||
| Surgery and chemotherapy with or without any combination of radiotherapy or hormone therapy or immunotherapy | 65 (69.1) | 139 (54.3) | – |
CI = confidence intervals. MPCs = middle-aged patients with cancer. OR = odds ratio. OPs = older patients without a diagnosis of cancer. OPCs = older patients with cancer. SD = standard deviation
aAvailable data, n = 88; missing data, n = 16. bAvailable data, n = 237; missing data, n = 34. cStatistically significant (P<0.01)