ABSTRACT
Objective:
To
survey the
awareness status of
risk factors for
gastric cancer and related factors among residents in Shijiazhuang city.
Methods:
From October to November 2020, residents
aged>18 years were selected through convenience sampling from Xinhua District and Yuhua District in Shijiazhuang for a
face-to-
face questionnaire survey. The demographic characteristics and
awareness levels of
risk factors for
gastric cancer among 1 490 subjects were analyzed. The multivariate
linear regression model was applied to analyze the related factors.
Results:
There were 522
male participants (35.0%) and 968
female participants (65.0%). The mean
knowledge score of
risk factors of gastric
carcinoma in the
respondents was 5.0 (1.0, 11.0). There were 57.0% (849/1 490) of the participants
who had a low
knowledge level about
risk factors of
gastric cancer. The more highly recognized
risk factors were irregular
diet (47.4%, 706/1 490),
consumption of pickled
foods (45.2%, 674/1 490),
consumption of smoked
foods (45.0%, 671/1 490); the less-recognized
risk factors included
physical inactivity (14.8%, 221/1 490),
male sex (17.3%, 258/1 490) and older age (19.5%, 291/1 490). Only 26.8% (400/1490) of the participants regarded H. pylori
infection as a
risk factor of
gastric cancer. Univariate
analysis showed that
educational level ( Z=39.34),
marital status ( Z=53.31), monthly
income ( Z=11.82),
family member or
friend ever having
stomach problem ( H=-2.98), and
family history of
gastric cancer ( H=-2.34) were significantly associated with the
knowledge score of
risk factors for
gastric cancer ( P<0.05).
Multivariate analysis showed that compared to participants with educational levels of
primary school or below, those with
educational level of junior
high school ( β=0.27, P<0.001),
high school ( β=0.23, P<0.001), or college ( β=0.16, P<0.001) had a higher levels of
knowledge of
risk factors for
gastric cancer; compared to
unmarried participants,
awareness of
risk factors was significantly better in those
who were married ( β=0.16, P<0.001),
divorced ( β=0.05, P=0.039), or
widowed ( β=0.06, P=0.027); compared to participants with monthly
income<3 000 yuan, the subjects with monthly
income from 5 000 to 10 000 yuan ( β=0.07, P=0.020) had a higher
knowledge score; compared to participants with no
family history of
gastric cancer, subjects with
family history had higher
knowledge level of
risk factors for
gastric cancer ( β=0.06, P=0.029).
Conclusion:
The
knowledge levels of
risk factors for
gastric cancer are generally low among residents in Shijiazhuang city. Educational initiatives are required to improve the
awareness of
risk factors for
gastric cancer, and interventions need to be implemented concurrently to change unhealthy
behaviors among residents in Shijiazhuang city.