Impact of COVID-19 on health care and quality of life in women with breast cancer

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to explore the impact of COVID-19 on health-care services and quality of life (QoL) in women diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) in Ireland and whether the impact varied by social determinants of health (SDH). METHODS: Women diagnosed with BC completed a questionnaire measuring the impact of COVID-19, disruption to BC services, QoL, SDH, and clinical covariates during COVID-19 restrictions. The association between COVID-19 impact and disruption to BC services and QoL was assessed using multivariable regression with adjustment for SDH and clinical covariates. An interaction between COVID-19 impact and health insurance status was assessed within the regression models. RESULTS: A total of 30.5% (n = 109) of women reported high COVID-19 impact, and these women experienced more disruption in BC services (odds ratio = 4.95, 95% confidence interval = 2.28 to 10.7, P < .001) and lower QoL (β = -12.01, SE = 3.37, P < .001) compared with women who reported low COVID-19 impact. Health insurance status moderated the effect of COVID-19 on disruption to BC services and QoL. Women who reported high COVID-19 impact experienced more disruption to BC services and lower QoL compared with women with low COVID-19 impact; however, the magnitude of these unfavorable effects differed by insurance status (Pinteraction < .05). CONCLUSIONS: There was a large disruption to BC services and decrease in QoL for women with BC in Ireland during the pandemic. However, the impact was not the same for all women. It is important that women with BC are reintegrated into proper care and QoL is addressed through multidisciplinary support services.