Volume 26, Issue 124, June 2022

Cancer knowledge related to nutrition among medical students

Mostafa Ahmed Arafa^1,4, Karim Hamda Farhat^1♦, Nahla Khamis Ibrahim^2,4, Noha S Mostafa³, Doaa Ali Mohamed⁵, Raghdah Hashem Ateeq⁶

¹Cancer Research Chair, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia
²Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
³Primary Health care Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
⁴Epidemiology Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
⁵Family Health Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
⁶Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Cancer Research Chair, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To assess the knowledge level of medical students about nutritional, lifestyle, and hormonal factors related to cancer among students from King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, and King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah. Materials and methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted amid medical students from both universities during the period from October 2021 and January 2022. A valid and reliable self-administered and/or Google form questionnaire was used to survey the participants. It inquired about personal data, practicing physical activities 18 questions (answered on 3 points Likert scale) related to nutrition was used. Results: A total of 616 medical students were recruited. The mean nutrition correct knowledge scores were 24.8+5.8 (68.9%) and 26.5+5.4 (73.6%) for students from Riyadh and Jeddah Universities, respectively (Student’s t-test = 3.76 & P < 0.01). Both groups had a high percentage of right answers regarding the increased cancer risks associated with the consumption of alcohol, processed meat, and salty foods. Only 16% of the medical students from Riyadh and 30.7% from Jeddah reported that they have lectures or discussions about that association of nutrition with cancer with their staff. Conclusion: Students from both universities had a reasonable level of knowledge about risk factors of cancer, in favor of Jeddah students. There is a requirement for more intercessions in the medical students’ curricula with further curriculum reform regarding the value of nutritional and lifestyle education and how related to cancer risks or prevention for improving future physician practices.

Keywords: Cancer prevention; cancer risk; nutrition; lifestyle, hormones, knowledge; medical students

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms226e2253

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i124/ms226e2253

Published: 18 June 2022