Comparing patient-reported outcomes and lifestyle factors before and after the COVID-19 pandemic among Black and Hispanic breast cancer survivors in New Jersey

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in the US since March 2020 on cancer survivorship among Black and Hispanic breast cancer (BC) survivors remains largely unknown. We aimed to evaluate associations of the pandemic with participant characteristics, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and lifestyle factors among Black and Hispanic BC survivors in the Women’s Circle of Health Follow-Up Study and the New Jersey BC Survivors Study.

We included 447 Black (n_pre = 364 and n_post = 83) and 182 Hispanic (n_pre = 102 and n_post = 80) BC survivors who completed a home interview approximately 24 months post-diagnosis between 2017 and 2023. The onset of the pandemic was defined as March 2020. The association of the pandemic with binary outcomes was estimated using robust Poisson regression models.

Hispanic and Black BC survivors recruited after the onset of the pandemic reported higher socioeconomic status and fewer comorbidities. Black women in the post-pandemic group reported a higher prevalence of clinically significant sleep disturbance (prevalence ratio (PR) 1.43, 95% CI 1.23, 1.68), lower sleep efficiency, and lower functional well-being, compared to the pre-pandemic group. Hispanic women were less likely to report low health-related quality of life (vs. high; PR 0.62, 95% CI 0.45, 0.85) after the onset of the pandemic.

Ongoing research is crucial to untangle the impact of the pandemic on racial and ethnic minorities participating in cancer survivorship research, as well as PROs and lifestyle factors.

This study highlights the importance of considering the impact of the pandemic in all aspects of research, including the interpretation of findings.