Cancer Information Seekers’ Comprehension Level and the Association With Preventable Cancer Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis From a Nationally Representative U.S. Adult Survey

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the association between U.S. adult cancer information seekers’ comprehension level and preventable cancer risk factors. Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Setting: Health Information National Trends Survey-6, 2022. Subjects: 2,453 cancer information seekers. Measures: Four cancer risk factors were dichotomized: cigarette smoking (have smoked ≥100 cigarettes and currently smoke every day/some days); experiencing sunburn (≥1 times/past 12 months); being overweight/obese (≥25 body mass index [kg/m2]); and binge drinking (≥5 [male] or ≥4 [female] alcoholic drinks on one occasion/past 30 days). Individuals who reported that cancer information was hard to understand were considered having comprehension difficulties. Analysis: Binomial and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of cancer information comprehension level with individual and cumulative cancer risk factors, adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity, age, annual household income, education level, metropolitan status, depressed mood, and cancer diagnosis history. Results: Cancer information seekers with comprehension difficulties had higher odds of binge drinking (aOR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.46), being overweight/obese (aOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.96), and experiencing sunburn (aOR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.11), as well as having ≥3 (aOR: 3.38, 95% CI: 1.87, 6.09) cancer risk factors concurrently than cancer information seekers without comprehension difficulties. Conclusion: Dissemination of easy-to-understand cancer information would help better prevent cancer risk factors for cancer information seekers with comprehension difficulties.