Section for Geogenetics, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen K, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Naestved Hospital, Naestved, Naestved, Denmark.
PeerJ. 2024 Sep 26;12:e18057. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18057. eCollection 2024.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the third most prevalent cancer globally, often remaining asymptomatic in its early stages but posing high mortality risks in advanced tumours. Screening for CRC (sCRC) has shown to effectively reduce both incidence and mortality rates. In this study, we investigate a potential association between a decline in sCRC participation in Denmark and a major sporting event. We conducted an association cohort study encompassing all citizens aged 50 to 74, who were invited to undergo sCRC screening in Region Zealand, Denmark, spanning from 2014 to 2022. Our analysis revealed a noticeable reduction in sCRC participation specifically during the 2-week period in autumn 2022 coinciding with the participation of the Danish football team in the Football World Cup 2022 held in Qatar. To our knowledge, this is the first instance where an international sporting event has been linked to a decline in national sCRC participation, suggesting that the fervour of sports enthusiasts may divert attention away from preventive health measures. Notably, no similar reductions in sCRC participation were observed during any other sporting events throughout the entire study period (2014-2022) in Denmark.
结直肠癌（CRC）是全球第三大常见癌症，在早期通常无症状，但在晚期肿瘤中死亡率很高。结直肠癌筛查（sCRC）已被证明可有效降低发病率和死亡率。在这项研究中，我们调查了丹麦 sCRC 参与率下降与一项重大体育赛事之间的潜在关联。我们进行了一项关联队列研究，涵盖了丹麦 Zealand 地区所有年龄在 50 至 74 岁的公民，这些人被邀请在 2014 年至 2022 年期间接受 sCRC 筛查。我们的分析显示，sCRC 参与率在 2022 年秋季的 2 周内明显下降，正值丹麦足球队参加在卡塔尔举行的 2022 年国际足联世界杯。据我们所知，这是首次有国际体育赛事与国家 sCRC 参与率下降有关联，这表明体育爱好者的热情可能会分散人们对预防保健措施的注意力。值得注意的是，在整个研究期间（2014-2022 年），丹麦没有观察到任何其他体育赛事出现类似的 sCRC 参与率下降。
