Do long term cancer survivors have better health-promoting behavior than non-cancer populations?: case-control study in Korea.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Propensity score-matched case-control study using cross-sectional survey data
PubMed 25743808 · doi:10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.4.1415
What was done
Researchers compared health-promoting behaviors between long-term cancer survivors and general population controls using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES IV [2007-2009] and KNHANES V [2010-2012]). Controls were selected via propensity score matching. Multiple logistic regression models adjusting for covariates were used to evaluate associations between cancer survivorship and four behaviors: smoking status, alcohol use, physical exercise, and disease screening.
What was found
Long-term cancer survivors had lower odds of smoking (OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.25-0.71) and alcohol use (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.50-0.98) compared with matched controls. There were no statistically significant differences in physical exercise (OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.75-1.35) or disease screening (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 0.93-1.74).
Why it matters
Although long-term cancer survivors reduce negative health behaviors like smoking and drinking, they do not engage more in proactive health behaviors such as physical activity or regular disease screening than the general population.
Limits
The abstract does not state the sample size (n). The data come from cross-sectional national surveys relying on self-reported behaviors, and details regarding specific cancer types, disease stages, or exact duration of survivorship were not provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Overall physical activity levels among post-treatment cancer survivors are roughly similar to physical activity levels in the general population.