Photo Credit: Jacob Wackerhausen

Authors of a study published in Cancer assessed the impact of social relationships on HRQOL among long-term breast cancer survivors. Using data from the MARIE cohort, which included 2,022 cases with more than 15 years of follow-up, Matthias Hans Belau, PhD, and colleagues analyzed the correlation between social integration, social support, and global health status (GHS). The findings revealed that high social integration and support were prevalent among participants. Social integration 5 years post-diagnosis was positively associated with GHS at the same interval (β=1.12; 95% CI, 0.25-1.99) but not longitudinally. Social support demonstrated a stronger impact on GHS, with significant associations at 5 years (β=0.42; 95% CI, 0.36-0.48), 10 years (β=0.12; 95% CI, 0.02-0.22), and 15 years (β=0.1; 95% CI, 0.01-0.21) post-diagnosis. The researchers wrote that their results underscore the importance of social relationships in enhancing HRQOL for breast cancer survivors, and clinicians should consider the association while treating patients.