Consumer credit as a novel marker for economic burden and health after cancer in a diverse population of breast cancer survivors in the USA

Background: Consumer credit may reflect financial hardship that patients face due to cancer treatment, which in turn may impact ability to manage health after cancer; however, credit’s relationship to economic burden and health after cancer has not been evaluated. Methods: From May to September 2015, 123 women with a history of breast cancer residing in Pennsylvania or New Jersey completed a cross-sectional survey of demographics, socioeconomic position, comorbidities, SF-12 self-rated health, economic burden since cancer diagnosis, psychosocial stress, and self-reported (poor to excellent) credit quality. Ordinal logistic regression evaluated credit’s contribution to economic burden and self-rated health. Results: Mean respondent age was 64 years. Mean year from diagnosis was 11.5. Forty percent of respondents were Black or Other and 60% were White. Twenty-four percent self-reported poor credit, and 76% reported good to excellent credit quality. In adjusted models, changing income, using savings, borrowing money, and being unable to purchase a health need since cancer were associated with poorer credit. Better credit was associated with 7.72 ([1.22, 14.20], p = 0.02) higher physical health t-score, and a − 2.00 ([− 3.92, − 0.09], p = 0.04) point change in psychosocial stress. Conclusions: This exploratory analysis establishes the premise for consumer credit as a marker of economic burden and health for breast cancer survivors. Future work should validate these findings in larger samples and for other health conditions. Implications for Cancer Survivors: Stabilizing and monitoring consumer credit may be a potential intervention point for mitigating economic burden after breast cancer.