Hospitalisations and Costs of Chronic Health Conditions Among Long-Term Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers in Queensland, Australia

Doreen Nabukalu; Louisa G. Collins; Daniel Lindsay; John Lowe; Katharina M.D. Merollini

doi:10.1002/pon.70395

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Hospitalisations and Costs of Chronic Health Conditions Among Long-Term Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers in Queensland, Australia

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Hospitalisations and Costs of Chronic Health Conditions Among Long-Term Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers in Queensland, Australia

Doreen Nabukalu, Louisa G. Collins, Daniel Lindsay, John Lowe and Katharina M.D. Merollini

Psycho-Oncology, Vol.35(2), pp.1-12

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.70395

PMID: 41653182

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Abstract

adolescent

cancer

cancer survivors

child

chronic disease

health care costs

neoplasms

oncology

paediatrics

young adult

Background Adult cancer survivors are likely to be hospitalised with chronic illnesses, although evidence for childhood and AYA survivors is limited. Aim This study quantified hospitalisations and the costs of health services used by survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) cancers with and without chronic conditions. Methods We assessed long-term survivors (≥ 5 years past diagnosis) of childhood and AYA cancers diagnosed at ages 0–39 years between 1997 and 2011 in Queensland, Australia. Utilising a linked administrative dataset, we determined the prevalence of chronic conditions from hospital records using classification codes (ICD-10-AM) and quantified hospitalisations and associated costs in 2024 Australian dollars (AU$). Generalised linear regression modelling was used to examine how chronic conditions affected healthcare costs, controlling for clinical and socio-demographic factors. Results Of 14,422 participants, 16% (n = 2286) were hospitalised with at least one chronic disease, with hypertension (n = 675, 4.7%) and depression (n = 463, 3.2%) being the most common. Inpatient admissions were significantly higher for survivors with chronic conditions (mean 3, SD = 10) compared to those without chronic conditions (mean 1, SD = 4). The mean annual costs were highest for those with chronic kidney disease (AU$26,428, SD = AU$30,331), schizophrenia (AU$22,835, SD = AU$37,204), epilepsy (AU$22,361, SD = AU$37,224), paralysis (AU$22,051, SD = AU$32,165) and chronic heart failure (AU$21,912 SD = AU$38,763). Hypertension (AU$5.4 million) and depression (AU$4.3 million) incurred the highest total costs over the follow-up period. Conclusion Implementing targeted survivorship care and preventative measures for high-cost conditions such as schizophrenia and chronic kidney disease may optimise healthcare resource use and reduce the economic burden for this population.

Details

Title: Hospitalisations and Costs of Chronic Health Conditions Among Long-Term Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers in Queensland, Australia
Authors: Doreen Nabukalu (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Louisa G. Collins - QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Daniel Lindsay - The University of Queensland
John Lowe - University of the Sunshine Coast
Katharina M.D. Merollini - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Psycho-Oncology, Vol.35(2), pp.1-12
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1002/pon.70395
ISSN: 1099-1611
PMID: 41653182
Copyright note: © 2026 The Author(s). Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Data Availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
Organisation Unit: Cancer Research Cluster; School of Health - Public Health
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991214173202621
Output Type: Journal article

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