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 healthconscious
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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:84466 |
| Date | 31 March 2023 |
| Creators | Stroske, Isabelle, Geue, Kristina, Friedrich, Michael, Sender, Annekathrin, Schmidt, Ricarda, Richter, Diana, Leuteritz, Katja |
| Publisher | Frontiers Research Foundation |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 1664-1078, 697096 |
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