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. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):1124.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-025-14528-8.

Trends of health behaviors among cancer patients in Korea: a cross-sectional time series analysis

Noor Afif Mahmudah  1 , Young-Kwon Park  2 , Minsu Ock  3   4   5
Affiliations

Trends of health behaviors among cancer patients in Korea: a cross-sectional time series analysis

Noor Afif Mahmudah et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Health behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity play a vital role in cancer recovery and long-term survivorship. This study examines the health behaviors of Korean cancer patients, essential for their well-being and cancer recurrence prevention. We analyze annual trends and compare them with those of the general healthy population.

Methods: Cross-sectional time-series data (2010-2021) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. The study included 2,861 participants (19 years or older) diagnosed with cancer. Cancer types were classified into stomach, liver, colon, breast, cervical, lung, thyroid, other, and all cancers combined. Trends in smoking, monthly drinking, high-risk drinking, and walking rates by cancer type were examined using Joinpoint Regression Program for analysis and compared with the general population.

Results: In 2021, all cancers combined type exhibited lower smoking (8.9% vs. 20.3%), monthly drinking (38.5% vs. 61.0%), and high-risk drinking rates (11.8% vs. 15.2%), with higher walking rates (43.6% vs. 30.3%) than healthy individuals (p-value < 0.001). However, the observed trends suggest a potential increase in unhealthy behaviors among cancer patients. There were significant elevated trends, including the monthly drinking rates in cervical cancer (APC = 9.7; 95% CI 5.6, 14.1; p-value < 0.001) and thyroid cancer (AAPC = 6.3; 95% CI 0.0, 12.9; p-value < 0.05), as well as the high-risk drinking rates in colon cancer (APC = 24.2; 95% CI 1.8, 51.7; p-value < 0.05) and cervical cancer (APC = 34.3; 95% CI 11.9, 61.6; p-value < 0.05).

Conclusion: Cancer patients showed better health behaviors compared to the general healthy population, possibly due to their diagnosis acting as a catalyst for a healthier lifestyle. Nevertheless, certain cancer types displayed increasing rates of unhealthy behaviors, necessitating strategies to enhance the health behaviors of cancer patients.

Keywords: Alcohol drinking; Health behavior; Korea; Neoplasms; Pattern analysis, machine; Smoking cessation; Walking.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Since this study used a publicly available secondary data source, we did not seek approval from the institutional review board. We also did not have to ask for the consent of the participants. Consent for publication: We did not need to seek consent for publication. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of the health behaviors among patients with cancer (as of 2021)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Modeled trends in smoking rate by cancer type
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Modeled trends in monthly drinking rate by cancer type
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Modeled trends in high-risk drinking rate by cancer type
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Modeled trends in walking rate by cancer type
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