Colorectal Cancer and the Role of the Gut Microbiota—Do Medical Students Know More Than Other Young People?—Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

(1) Background: Malignant neoplasms account for an increasing share of the disease burden of the world population and are an increasingly common cause of death. In the aspect of colorectal cancer, increasing attention is paid to the microbiota. According to current knowledge, the composition of gut microbiota in patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer significantly differs from the composition of microorganisms in the intestines of healthy individuals. (2) Material and methods: The survey included 571 students from the three universities located in Silesia. The research tool was an original, anonymous questionnaire created for the study. The ratio of correct answers to the total number of points possible to obtain was evaluated according to the adopted criteria (≤25%—very low level of knowledge; >75%—high level of knowledge). (3) Results: From the questions about the gut microbiota, the subjects scored an average of six points (SD ± 1.31) out of nine possible points. Statistical analysis showed differences between the number of correct answers among students of the Medical University of Silesia and the University of Silesia (p = 0.04, p < 0.05). On the other hand, in the field of colorectal cancer, the respondents scored on average four points (SD ± 2.07) out of eight possible. Statistical analysis showed significant differences between the ratio of correct answers and the respondent’s university affiliation (p < 0.05). Both age and place of residence did not positively correlate with knowledge level (p = 0.08 NS). In contrast, chronic diseases were found to have a significant effect on the amount of information held by the students surveyed (p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: The level of knowledge of the surveyed students of the Silesia Province is unsatisfactory. The higher awareness among the students of medical universities results from the presence of issues related to microbiota and CRC in the medical educational content. Therefore, there is a need to consider the introduction of educational activities in the field of cancer prevention, including CRC, especially among non-medical university students.

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