Most common health problems in general practice among adolescents, and young adults’ survivors of lymphoma: a register-based cohort study in Norway

Abstract

Background

The aim was to investigate the distribution of health problems in general practice (GP) among adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of lymphoma and to compare problem rates with the general population.

Methods

All GP consultations between 2006 and 2020 were identified from the national GP claims register. Diseases and complaints presented 3–10 years after the cancer diagnosis were identified using the International Classification of Primary Care codes (ICPC-2) and compared by applying logistic regression models, presented with odds ratio (OR) and 95%CI.

Results

A total of 2,500,557 AYAs, of whom 1105 were diagnosed with lymphoma, and over 50 million GP consultations were included. The most common causes of consultation among AYA survivors of lymphoma were related to Hodgkin’s disease (13%), pregnancy (11%), respiratory diseases (9%), psychological problems (8%), musculoskeletal system (6%) and fatigue (4%). Almost all these problems were significantly higher among AYA lymphoma survivors compared to the general population (OR ranging from 1.1 to 1.5).

Conclusion

Compared to the general population, young lymphoma survivors have increased contact with the GP for a considerable number of health problems for up to 10 years post-diagnosis. This emphasizes the importance of robust follow-up and a good flow of information between hospital and primary care.

Keywords:

• Lymphoma
• GP consultations
• late effects of cancer
• adolescents and young adults
• register-based study

Acknowledgements

We thank The Norwegian Cancer Registry and the Norwegian Patient Registry as data contributors. The interpretation and reporting of these data are the sole responsibility of the authors, and no endorsement by those registries is intended nor should be inferred.

Authors’ contributions

RDRK and RPU conceived the idea, RDRK performed the analysis, RDRK, RPU, EM, HSH and CEK contributed to creation and presentation of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data can be made available upon approval from the Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics in Norway.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.