Influence of Offspring on Quality of Life among Cancer Patients and Survivors: Results from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), 2008-2011

Background: To examine whether offspring improve or reduce quality of life (QOL) among cancer patients and survivors. Materials and Methods: We used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) from 2008 to 2011. There were 490 research subjects in our study: 245 cancer patients and survivors and 245 controls matched using propensity scores. Results: For cancer patients and survivors with no offspring, the QOL estimate was -2.831 lower (SE: 5.508, p-value: 0.623) than that of those with two offspring, while for those with five or more offspring, the QOL estimate was 7.336 higher (SE: 2.840, p-value: 0.036). For non-cancer patients and survivors with one child, the QOL estimate was -11.258 lower (SE: 2.430, p-value: 0.002) than that of those with two offspring, while for those with five or more offspring, the QOL estimate was -4.881 lower (SE: 2.484, p-value: 0.090). Conclusions: This article provides evidence for a beneficial effect of offspring upon QOL in cancer patients and survivors, indicating that offspring are important for them.