Multiple health behaviors before and after a cancer diagnosis among women: A repeated cross-sectional analysis over 15 years.
Cancer Med
; 9(9): 3224-3233, 2020 05.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32134568
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Cancer diagnosis may be a cue for health behavior change. Previous research that assessed the impact of a cancer diagnosis on multiple health behavior (MHB) change is limited by small sample size, cross-sectional study design, and a focus on individual rather than multiple behaviors. This study investigated the impact of a cancer diagnosis on compliance with MHB recommendations.METHODS:
Data from Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) were utilized. Compliance with MHB was assessed by cancer survivorship period; 0-3 years pre-diagnosis, 0-3 years postdiagnosis, 4-12 years postdiagnosis, and compared to controls. A MHB score based on the WCRF/AICR guidelines was calculated for six behaviors (physical activity, smoking, alcohol, BMI, fruit, and vegetable intake); scores ranged from 0 to 6, with a higher score indicating higher compliance. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used for statistical analysis.RESULTS:
Participants comprised 7585 women from the 2001 ALSWH survey, of whom 2285 developed cancer during 15 years of follow-up. Compared to controls, the mean MHB score was slightly lower (Mean Difference (MD) = -0.015, P > .05) in survivors pre-diagnosis, after adjusting for confounders; however, the compliance score increased during postdiagnosis, with the mean difference score being significantly higher in recent survivors (0-3 years post diagnosis; MD = 0.055, P < .01). Likewise, within cancer survivors, the mean compliance score significantly increased 0-3 years postdiagnosis (MD = 0.07, P < .05) compared to pre-diagnosis, but this significant improvement was not maintained over the longer term (MD = 0.037, P > .05).CONCLUSION:
In this sample, survivors had higher MHB score than controls. A cancer diagnosis may provide a teachable moment for health behavior change in the period immediately following diagnosis, but this effect was not sustained during longer-term survivorship.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Quality of Life
/
Health Behavior
/
Women's Health
/
Cancer Survivors
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspects:
Patient_preference
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Cancer Med
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Australia