Abstract
BackgroundHigh breast cancer mortality has been attributed to lack of public awareness, which leads to late diagnoses. As little is known about the level of knowledge and awareness of breast cancer in China, this study was designed to explore it among women in Eastern China.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey covering 122,058 females around Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu and Tianjin, in Eastern China, using in-person interviews based on a self-designed structured questionnaire. Student’s t-test, Pearson’s χ2 test, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed in the statistical analysis.ResultsThe results showed poor awareness of breast cancer among women aged 25–70 years in Eastern China. Only 18.6% of women were highly aware in the study, whereas 81.4% were poorly aware. Among all participants, family history of breast cancer was the best accepted risk factor for breast cancer (awareness rate 31.5%), followed by menarche at age before 12 (11.2%), no parity or late childbirth (13.9%), menopause at a late age (13.7%), high-fat diets (19.1%), long time drinking (19.5%) and long-term use of estrogen drugs (20.7%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis (α = 0.05) identified nine variables that predicted awareness of breast cancer: age (OR = 0.975, 95% CI: 0.960–0.990), location (OR = 1.675, 95% CI: 1.602–1.752), occupation (OR = 4.774, 95% CI: 4.316–5.281), family history of breast cancer (OR = 1.234, 95% CI: 1.073–1.420), household annual income (OR = 0.418, 95% CI: 0.400–0.436), behavioral prevention score (OR = 4.137, 95% CI: 3.991–4.290), no smoking (OR = 2.113, 95% CI: 1.488–2.999), no drinking (OR = 1.427, 95% CI: 1.018–2.000), overall life satisfaction (OR = 0.707, 95% CI: 0.683–0.731).ConclusionsOur study indicates insufficient awareness of breast cancer among women in Eastern China, and an urgent need for health education programs on this subject.
Highlights
High breast cancer mortality has been attributed to lack of public awareness, which leads to late diagnoses
Multivariate logistic regression analysis (α = 0.05) identified nine variables that predicted awareness of breast cancer: age (OR = 0.975, 95% CI: 0.960–0.990), location (OR = 1.675, 95% CI: 1.602–1.752), occupation (OR = 4.774, 95% CI: 4.316–5.281), family history of breast cancer (OR = 1.234, 95% CI: 1.073–1.420), household annual income (OR = 0.418, 95% CI: 0.400–0.436), behavioral prevention score (OR = 4.137, 95% CI: 3.991–4.290), no smoking (OR = 2.113, 95% CI: 1.488–2.999), no drinking (OR = 1.427, 95% CI: 1.018–2.000), overall life satisfaction (OR = 0.707, 95% CI: 0.683–0.731)
According to the American Cancer Statistics Report, an estimated 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in the US during 2013, accounting for
Summary
High breast cancer mortality has been attributed to lack of public awareness, which leads to late diagnoses. As little is known about the level of knowledge and awareness of breast cancer in China, this study was designed to explore it among women in Eastern China. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide by far. About 1.67 million new cases were diagnosed, and 522,000 deaths from breast cancer occurred in 2012 [1]. According to the American Cancer Statistics Report, an estimated 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in the US during 2013, accounting for. 29% of new cancer cases among women [2]. Based on National Central Cancer Registry 2009, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among Chinese women, irrespective of age group or ethnicity, accounting for 16.18% of all cancer types [3]
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