Prevalence of factors associated with cancer in medical students and sex-related diferences

Abstract

Introduction: Currently, there is an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cancer. At the university, the acquisition of risky habits for this may be worrisome in the future. Thus, the assessment of the susceptibility of medical students can help to elucidate possible points of intervention, since it is a portion of the population oriented and supposedly encouraged to develop a healthy lifestyle. Objective: To evaluate the presence of risk factors associated with cancer in medical students at a public university in Paraíba. Patients and Methods: Cross-sectional and quantitative study was conducted with students from the first to the fourth year of the medical course at a public university. An objective questionnaire was used on the habits of sun and sexual exposure, dietary patterns, physical exercise, alcoholism, smoking, and others. The Chi-square test was used to assess the association between variables. The confidence interval and the level of significance considered were 95% and 5%, respectively. Results: A total of 211 students participated in the study. Of these, 35.5% reported using sunscreen. There was an association between the use of sunscreen and the female gender (p <0.05). The practice of physical exercise was similar between genders. Eating habits showed a preference for red meat and industrialized inputs. Alcoholism and smoking were reported by 62.6% and 31.3% of participants, respectively, associated with the male gender (p <0.05). Of those who reported sexual activity, 82.4% use condoms, most of them men. The presence of two or more risk factors was observed in 41.7% of the sample (p <0.05), with men being the majority. Conclusion: The male gender showed associations with the factor’s alcoholism, smoking and less use of sunscreen. The presence of two or more risk factors was observed in 41.7% of the participants.