Rural–urban differences in health behaviors and implications for health status among US cancer survivors

Abstract

Rural US adults have increased risk of poor outcomes after cancer, including increased cancer mortality. Rural-urban differences in health behaviors have been identified in the general population and may contribute to cancer health disparities, but have not yet been examined among US survivors. We examined rural-urban differences in health behaviors among cancer survivors and associations with self-reported health and health-related unemployment. We identified rural (n=1,642) and urban (n=6,162) survivors from the cross-sectional National Health Interview Survey (2006-2010) and calculated the prevalence of smoking, physical activity, overweight/obesity, and alcohol consumption. Multivariable models were used to examine the associations of fair/poor health and health-related unemployment with health behaviors and rural-urban residence. The prevalence of fair/poor health (rural 36.7%, urban 26.6%), health-related unemployment (rural 18.5%, urban 10.6%), smoking (rural 25.3%, urban 15.8%), and physical inactivity (rural 50.7%, urban 38.7%) was significantly higher in rural survivors (all p<.05); alcohol consumption was lower (rural 46.3%, urban 58.6%), and there were no significant differences in overweight/obesity (rural 65.4%, urban 62.6%). All health behaviors were significantly associated with fair/poor health and health-related unemployment in both univariate and multivariable models. After adjustment for behaviors, rural survivors remained more likely than urban survivors to report fair/poor health (OR=1.21, 95% CI 1.03-1.43) and health-related unemployment (OR=1.49, 95% CI 1.18-1.88). Rural survivors may need tailored, accessible health promotion interventions to address health-compromising behaviors and improve outcomes after cancer.