Multiple health behaviors before and after a cancer diagnosis among women: A repeated cross-sectional analysis over 15 years.

Background: Cancer diagnosis may be a cue for health behavior change. Previous research that assessed the impact of a cancer diagnosis on multiple health behavior (MHB) change is limited by small sample size, cross-sectional study design, and a focus on individual rather than multiple behaviors. This study investigated the impact of a cancer diagnosis on compliance with MHB recommendations.

Methods: Data from Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) were utilized. Compliance with MHB was assessed by cancer survivorship period; 0-3 years pre-diagnosis, 0-3 years postdiagnosis, 4-12 years postdiagnosis, and compared to controls. A MHB score based on the WCRF/AICR guidelines was calculated for six behaviors (physical activity, smoking, alcohol, BMI, fruit, and vegetable intake); scores ranged from 0 to 6, with a higher score indicating higher compliance. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used for statistical analysis.

Results: Participants comprised 7585 women from the 2001 ALSWH survey, of whom 2285 developed cancer during 15 years of follow-up. Compared to controls, the mean MHB score was slightly lower (Mean Difference (MD) = -0.015, P > .05) in survivors pre-diagnosis, after adjusting for confounders; however, the compliance score increased during postdiagnosis, with the mean difference score being significantly higher in recent survivors (0-3 years post diagnosis; MD = 0.055, P < .01). Likewise, within cancer survivors, the mean compliance score significantly increased 0-3 years postdiagnosis (MD = 0.07, P < .05) compared to pre-diagnosis, but this significant improvement was not maintained over the longer term (MD = 0.037, P > .05).

Conclusion: In this sample, survivors had higher MHB score than controls. A cancer diagnosis may provide a teachable moment for health behavior change in the period immediately following diagnosis, but this effect was not sustained during longer-term survivorship.