Childhood Cancer Survivorship and Substance Use Behaviors: A Matched Case-Control Study Among Hispanic Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

Purpose: This case-control study compared substance use behaviors between Hispanic adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancers (cases) and a community sample of participants without cancer (controls).

Methods: A total of 100 cases were matched to controls (200 participants) one to one by ethnicity, age, and sex (mean age at survey 19.27, standard deviation = 1.92). Differences in self-reported previous 30-day use of tobacco, alcohol, binge drinking of alcohol, and marijuana were examined using conditional multivariable logistic regression.

Results: The odds of tobacco, alcohol, binge drinking, and marijuana use were significantly lower for cases than for controls (all p's <.05). When stratified by age, cases (vs. controls) under 21 years of age reported lower levels of substance use (all p's <.05), whereas differences over the age of 21 were nonsignificant.

Conclusions: Lower levels of substance use among Hispanic adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancers (vs. controls) are most apparent at younger ages. Future work needs to examine a potential delay in initiation of use among survivors.

Keywords: Adolescent; Alcohol; Cancer; Childhood; Depressive symptoms, Hispanic; Marijuana; Substance use; Survivorship; Tobacco; Young adult.