Association of social support patterns on health-related quality of life among Hispanic breast cancer survivors 

Objectives: Social support influences health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Hispanic breast cancer survivors, but prior research has not examined which combination of dimensions of social support shapes HRQoL. Thus, we examined the association of social support profiles with HRQoL among Hispanic breast cancer survivors. Methods: Hispanic women aged 20 and older, diagnosed with breast cancer at least six months earlier, residing in Central Florida, and able to read or speak English or Spanish were recruited via the Florida Cancer Registry's recruitment procedure for a population-based study examining intra-Hispanic disparities in HRQoL. Social support was assessed using the 19-item Medical Outcomes Study questionnaire. Latent Profile Analysis was conducted to explore distinct social support patterns with the four (emotional, tangible, affective, social network) domains as profile indicators. Model fit was determined using AIC and BIC. Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Breast (FACT-B) assessed HRQoL. A multivariable regression model compared FACT-B scores across the identified profiles. Results: Among 583 women recruited during September 2023 to October 2025, 560 women who completed the social support and HRQoL assessments were included in the analysis. Mean age was 58.9 ±11.9 years, and mean time since diagnosis was 4.1 ±2.0 years. Five support profiles emerged: low support across domains (8.0%), average support (16.6%), above average support (18.4%), high in affection/social support but low tangible support (7.1%), and moderately high support (49.8%). After controlling for age at diagnosis, Hispanic origin, BMI, race, multimorbidity, income, education, functionality, years living in the USA, and current age, we found that women in Profile 4 (beta = 15.34, p = 0.001) and Profile 5 (beta = 19.19, p < 0.001) had significantly higher FACT-B scores compared to those in Profile 1. Profiles 2 and 3 did not differ significantly from Profile 1. Conclusions: This study identified five distinct social support profiles among Hispanic women with breast cancer and demonstrated that higher levels of affective and social support are associated with better HRQoL, underscoring the critical role of social resources in survivorship outcomes. These findings highlight the need for culturally tailored interventions that strengthen emotional and social networks to improve quality of life. Funding: Florida Breast Cancer Foundation Scientific Research Grant.