Health Behavior and Associated Factors in Young Adult Cancer Patients

Abstract

Objectives: Having cancer in young adulthood increases the risk of adverse long-term health effects. These risks can be influenced by one’s health behavior (HB). The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the presence of health behavior in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) and to identify associated factors.Design: Young cancer patients (18–39 years old at time of diagnosis) were surveyed at baseline and 12 months later via online or as a paper-pencil version.Methods: A spectrum of indicators for HB was assessed via seven items from the Questionnaire of Multiple Health Behavior (MHB). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine factors associated with patients’ HB indicators.Results: Five-hundred and fourteen AYAs (75% women) reported the highest level of health-conscious behavior for “avoidance of consumption of nicotine,” “follow medical recommendations,” and “being considerate in road traffic.” Less health-conscious behavior was reported for “keeping an appropriate and balanced diet” and “physical activity.” Significant improvements from baseline to the follow-up were observed for “regularly attending health screening” (Hedges’ g = 0.44). The analyzed factors explained up to 10% of the HB indicators. Women reported significantly more health-conscious behavior than men in four out of seven HB indicators. Higher quality of life (QoL) was associated with more health behavior in three out of seven HB indicators.Conclusion: Findings show a predominantly health-conscious lifestyle in AYA cancer patients, though we also found harmful behavior which needs to be better approached—e.g., through improving AYAs’ health education. AYA men should be particularly targeted in specific prevention and health promotion measures. Future work should identify other factors associated with HB to evaluate targets for intervention.

The Emotional Impact of a Cancer Diagnosis: A Qualitative Study of Adolescent and Young Adult Experience

“…Barriers to psychosocial health have been reported previously [70] and this has emerged as one of the biggest unmet needs for this population. Previous health-related behavior research suggests a gendered effect-with males being more likely to adopt an avoidant coping style to healthcare consultations and medical advice [71]. However, avoidant behavior was reported by both males and females in our interviews, in relation to support seeking from formal and informal sources.…”

Reported Mental Health, Diet, and Physical Activity in Young Adult Cancer Survivors

“…However, perceived stress and anxiety were inversely associated with physical activity in bivariate analyses, indicating that mental health may still be important to address in physical activity interventions for this population. Moreover, identifying as a woman was inversely associated with physical activity in the adjusted models, which is surprising given that women with and without a history of cancer have been reported to engage in more health-conscious behaviors, such as physical activity [ 48 , 49 ]. Physical activity interventions may be particularly important for women cancer survivors in this age group, but further research is needed to understand this finding and the complex relationship between survivorship and physical activity among all YA survivors.…”

The relationship between health behaviors and quality of life: the mediating roles of activities of daily living and psychological distress

“…Decreased ADL ability and the presence of psychological distress are physical and mental health problems that manifest with age (11,12). These problems are partly influenced by health behaviors (11,13). Previous studies have shown that health behaviors are a combination of different behavior patterns and that health behaviors such as smoking, drinking and engaging in physical exercise can significantly affect changes in ADL ability and psychological distress (12)(13)(14).…”

“…These problems are partly influenced by health behaviors (11,13). Previous studies have shown that health behaviors are a combination of different behavior patterns and that health behaviors such as smoking, drinking and engaging in physical exercise can significantly affect changes in ADL ability and psychological distress (12)(13)(14). ADLs refer to the most basic and common activities that people carry out repeatedly every day to maintain survival and adapt to the living environment (15).…”

“…Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress are collectively referred to as psychological distress ( 15 ). Some studies have shown that health behaviors are closely related to psychological distress ( 13 , 17 ), with smoking, alcohol consumption and reduced physical activity leading to increased psychological distress, anxiety, depression and perceived stress ( 13 , 18 ). Quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake and engaging in moderate physical activity can improve mental health ( 17 , 19 , 20 ).…”