Health Behaviors in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Childhood Cancer Survivors: Prevalence, Determinants, and Comparison With Population Controls.
AI interpretation is pending for this paper.
Open original publication →What the AI sees
Not AI summarized yet.
Research significance
Pending deeper interpretation.
Source abstract
INTRODUCTION: Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at lifelong risk for late adverse health outcomes. Healthy behaviors, including physical activity, substance avoidance, adequate sleep, and sun protection, are critical to mitigating these risks. Yet, data on their prevalence and determinants in this population remain limited. This study aims to describe health behaviors among adolescent and young adult (AYA) CCS in Alberta, Canada, compare them with population-based controls, and identify associated factors for suboptimal health behaviors. METHODS: This is a longitudinal cohort study of 312 CCS aged ≥ 11 years enrolled in the Long-Term Survivor Clinic at the Alberta Children's Hospital between July 2021 and July 2025. Self-reported questionnaires captured health behavior outcomes and covariates. Comparisons were made with Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) controls. Risk factors were determined using Bayesian analyses. RESULTS: Among 312 participants (median age 22.1 years [interquartile range 8.78]; 50.6% female) at baseline, 31% did not meet physical activity recommendations, 13% reported current tobacco use, 29% reported current cannabis use, 0.1% reported poor sleep quality, and 47% reported only sometimes or rarely using sunscreen, with 14% never using sunscreen. Only 5.8% reported ever using artificial tanning devices. Compared with controls, CCS had higher rates of insufficient physical activity and e-cigarette use but lower rates of alcohol and medicinal cannabis use. Older age predicted artificial tanning, while male sex was associated with tobacco use and lower sunscreen adherence. Treatment intensity was not associated with any of the health behaviors. CONCLUSION: In this study, age and sex rather than treatment intensity predicted health behaviors. Emerging behaviors, such as e-cigarette and medicinal cannabis use, highlight gaps in current survivorship care and the need for standardized counseling frameworks. Overall, the integration of routine health behavior assessments and targeted interventions addressing these behaviors and associated factors is warranted to optimize long-term AYA survivorship outcomes.