Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
Instituto de Salud Pública, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
PeerJ. 2024 Jul 11;12:e17593. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17593. eCollection 2024.
The recommendations of both the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) for the prevention of cancer are important public health tools. These recommendations for the prevention of specific cancers are related to body weight maintenance; physical activity; foods and drinks that promote weight gain; plant foods; foods of animal origin; alcoholic beverages; preservation, processing, and preparation of food; food supplements; and breastfeeding.
This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study. All patients provided written informed consent prior to enrollment in the study. Stratified random sampling was carried out with a convenience sample size of ≥280 participants. The characteristics of the participants were investigated using validated questions. Knowledge about the WCRF/AICR recommendations for the primary prevention of cancer was determined using 14 multiple choice questions validated in this study. Group A included participants who answered that cancer can be prevented and that lifestyle is the main factor related to the onset of cancer; the remaining participants were assigned to Group B. The χ2 test and Mann‒Whitney U test were used to determine differences in the groups. A -value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. A multiple linear regression analysis with gamma response was performed to assess the knowledge score.
A total of 289 participants were included; 168 (58%) participants were in group A, and 121 (42%) participants were in group B. Using a 0 to 14 scale, the median (P25, P75) number of correct answers was 11 (10, 12). There was no evidence of a difference between groups in sex, relationship status, literacy skills, years of education, occupation, monthly income per person, and BMI. Most of the participants reported that they did not consume tobacco ( = 259/289) or alcohol ( = 261/289) in the week prior to completing the survey.
Most of the participants (58%) considered cancer preventable and agreed that lifestyle factors were the most important factors in cancer development. The results also showed a high level of public awareness of some evidence-based associations between cancer and lifestyle factors, such as tobacco use. Some confusion among the public on other risk factors was also identified: waist circumference, a variable related to excess weight, was not identified as a risk factor for cancer by most of the participants, but the consumption of foods and beverages high in calories was identified as a risk factor by the majority of participants. Awareness of cancer protective and risk factors may lead to positive behavioral changes and eventually reduce the burden of cancer.
世界癌症研究基金会（WCRF）和美国癌症研究所（AICR）的癌症预防建议是重要的公共卫生工具。这些针对特定癌症预防的建议与体重维持、身体活动、促进体重增加的食物和饮料、植物性食物、动物性食物、含酒精饮料、食品的保存、加工和制备、食品补充剂以及母乳喂养有关。
本研究为描述性、横断面、回顾性研究。所有患者在入组前均签署了书面知情同意书。采用分层随机抽样，方便样本量≥280 例。采用经过验证的问题调查参与者的特征。使用经过本研究验证的 14 个多项选择题确定参与者对 WCRF/AICR 癌症初级预防建议的了解程度。A 组包括回答癌症可以预防且生活方式是癌症发病主要相关因素的参与者；其余参与者被分配到 B 组。采用 χ2 检验和 Mann-Whitney U 检验比较组间差异。P 值≤0.05 为统计学差异有意义。采用伽马响应的多元线性回归分析评估知识得分。
共纳入 289 例参与者；其中 A 组 168 例（58%），B 组 121 例（42%）。采用 0 至 14 分制，正确答案的中位数（P25、P75）为 11（10、12）。两组间性别、婚姻状况、文化程度、受教育年限、职业、人均月收入和 BMI 无差异。大多数参与者报告在完成调查前一周内不吸烟（=259/289）或饮酒（=261/289）。
大多数（58%）参与者认为癌症可以预防且同意生活方式因素是癌症发展的最重要因素。结果还显示，公众对一些基于证据的癌症与生活方式因素之间的关联有较高的认识，例如吸烟。但公众对其他一些风险因素也存在混淆：大多数参与者并未将腰围（与超重相关的变量）识别为癌症风险因素，但大多数参与者认为高热量食物和饮料是癌症风险因素。对癌症保护和风险因素的认识可能会导致积极的行为改变，最终降低癌症负担。
