Knowledge, Awareness, and Practices of University Students Toward the Role of Dietary and Lifestyle Behaviors in Colorectal Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study from Sharjah/UAE

Abstract

Background: The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has risen worldwide, with increasing prevalence in the UAE and GCC during the last few decades. Dietary and lifestyle behaviors play a pivotal role in the development and prevention of sporadic, with knowledge and awareness considered the first line of defence. Knowledge, awareness, and practices have been examined in different parts of the world, with scarce research have been conducted in the GCC countries and the UAE in particular. This study explored the UAE university student’s knowledge and awareness toward the role of dietary and lifestyle behaviors in CRC. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, using an online multi-component self-reported questionnaire. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used. Results: A total of 1213 students participated in the study, with the vast majority (92.7%) of the surveyed students reported good knowledge scores toward CRC risk factors. Significant differences (P<0.05) were found between the two sexes regarding dietary and lifestyle factors associated with CRC. Females consumed more vegetables compared to males, had lower intakes of red and processed meats, and were found to be fewer smokers. Being single (P= 0.0001), undergraduate (P=0.005), with medium to low income (P=0.026) all were significantly associated with increased risk of having poor knowledge about CRC, while being a medical student was significantly associated (P= 0.0001) with a 55% lower risk of having poor knowledge. Conclusion: Despite the good knowledge, university students’ dietary and lifestyle behaviors necessities improvement, with barriers that require to be addressed.

Knowledge, Awareness, and Practices toward Colorectal Cancer and Its Dietary and Lifestyle-Related Risk Factors among Jordanian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Nonetheless, the findings of this study were consistent with those reported by Hashim et al [ 36 ]. The average knowledge and awareness of the participants about modifiable factors (73.6%) were more than nonmodifiable risk factors (40.8%).…”

“…72% responded with the correct answer, showing a good knowledge regarding obesity and CRC. This result ties in well with the findings of Hashim et al [ 36 ] and Ahmad et al [ 24 ], but lower than those reported by Saeed et al [ 18 ], Mhaidat et al [ 23 ], and Tfaily et al [ 19 ]. The prevalence of diabetes in Jordan is increasing steadily, where the overall aged-standardized prevalence increased from 14.2% in 1994 to 23.7% in 2017 [ 52 ].…”

“…Intriguingly, our findings showed that most of the study's participants, Jordanian students, had good knowledge and awareness regarding CRC and its dietary and lifestyle risk factors. This agreed with a previous study conducted in the UAE, where almost 93% of participants showed good knowledge scores regarding CRC risk factors [ 36 ]. However, in our study, the knowledge and awareness level were not reflected in the dietary behavior of the students.…”

“…An online, electronic questionnaire with two domains was used; a pretested one was used to assess the knowledge and awareness of the role of dietary and lifestyle factors in CRC [ 36 ], and another valid questionnaire [ 37 ] was used to assess dietary and lifestyle behaviors; both domains of the questionnaire were pretested before administration pilot testing with 35 students from the same targeted group, and it was edited according to the feedback obtained. The online link was publicly shared on a specialized fakebook page for Jordanian university students with 595,000 members.…”

Prevalence and patterns of premenstrual disorders and possible association with sexual harassment: a cross-sectional study of young Arab women

“…The type of diet also showed to have a strong influence on symptom reporting. Symptoms increased in women with high caloric food intake that contains high amounts of fat, sugar, and salt, while greatly decreased with increased healthy food intake like fruit [ 41 ].…”