[Toxic habits and diet behaviors of patients with breast cancer treated in the Mohammed VI Cancer Treatment Center, Casablanca].

INTRODUCTION

Breast cancer is a major public health challenge. The purpose of this study is to describe the sociodemographic profile, toxic habits and diet profile of patients suffering from breast cancer treated in the Mohammed VI Cancer Treatment Center, in Casablanca.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 305 female patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

RESULTS

The average age of patients was 50 years; Fifty-six percent (55.7%) of patients were married and 12.8% were widows. Among the surveyed women, 83% were housewives, 63.3% lived in an urban environment and 47.9% were illiterate. With respect to patients' toxic habits, only 5,9% of the surveyed women reported that they had consumed alcohol and a minority of them reported they were ex-smokers or smokers (4.3% and 2.3%respectively). With respect to diet, our patients consumed bread and red meat with an average frequency of 8.26 and 5.84 times/week respectively and, finally, dairy products with an average frequency ranging from 3.55 to 4.57 times/week. In addition, patients mostly consumed potatoes and fresh fruit, with an average frequency of 5.74 and 5.38 times/week respectively. Tea was the most widely consumed beverage, with a very high average frequency of 8.12 times/week.

CONCLUSION

Given our results, most of the surveyed women were housewives, illiterate women and resided in an urban environment. Many foods were frequently consumed by our patients. On the other hand, the consumption of psychoactive substances such as alcohol and tobacco was low. Analytical case-control studies are necessary to establish a possible association between these risk factors and breast cancer.