Comparison of modifiable health behaviours between persons with and without cancer: the Multiethnic Cohort

Abstract Objective To compare the prevalence of modifiable risk factors for cancer and other chronic diseases between adult cancer survivors and persons with no history of cancer. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Population-based sample residing in California and Hawaii. Subjects A total of 177 003 men and women aged 45–75 years who participated in the Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC). Logistic regression was used to examine adherence to recommendations regarding modifiable risk factors among cancer survivors (n 16 346) when compared with cohort members with no history of cancer (n 160 657). Results Cancer survivors were less likely than cohort members with no history of cancer to meet recommendations specified in the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) 2007 report (OR = 0·97; 95 % CI 0·96, 0·99). No difference between groups was seen for adherence to dietary recommendations alone (OR = 0·99; 95 % CI 0·98, 1·01). Site-specific analyses showed that results for colorectal cancer were similar to those for all cancers combined, but survivors of breast (OR = 1·04; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·07) and prostate (OR = 1·04; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·07) cancer were more likely to meet dietary recommendations. Latino survivors were less likely to adhere to WCRF/AICR recommendations than Latino controls; however, differences across ethnic groups were not significant (Pinteraction = 0·64). Conclusions The modest differences found between adult cancer survivors and persons with no history of cancer suggest that a diagnosis of cancer in itself may not be associated with improvements in health behaviours related to cancer and other chronic diseases.