Knowledge of early gastric cancer screening among adults ≥45 years in China: Who, when, and how

Abstract

Abstract Objective Gastric cancer remains the fifth most diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. A better understanding of gastric cancer or early screening is crucial in disease prevention. In our country, the understanding of gastric cancer is still relatively lacking. Howere, little is known about the knowledge of early gastric cancer screening, especially among the ≥ 45-year population in China. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge of early gastric cancer screening and associated factors in the population ≥ 45 years in Shijiazhuang, China, 2022. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in public places in Shijiazhuang, China, through the distribution of structured questionnaires. From 1 August 2022 to 10 August 2022, 1200 subjects over 45 were enrolled in the study. The descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 26.0. Results A total of 1053 respondents participated in the study with a response rate of 88%.Only 17.5% of respondents had good early gastric cancer screening knowledge. In terms of specific screening knowledge, 64.0% of participants agreed that gastroscopy is the gold standard for early gastric cancer screening(how). However, only 19.9% were aware of the starting age of early screening (when), and less than 50% correctly identified the target group (who) from the H. pylori infection population (lowest,20.5%) to individuals with gastric diseases (highest,47.6%). Independent factors related to higher screening knowledge included female sex(OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.01–2.38),higher education level(OR = 4.03, 95% CI = 2.68–6.06), being with a personal/family experience of gastric diseases(OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.12–2.52). Conclusion In China, people ≥ 45 years have poor knowledge about early gastric cancer screening, especially a lack of awareness of specific information, including starting age(when)and target group༈who༉. Sex, education level, and personal/family experience of gastric diseases were found to be independent predictors of the early screening knowledge of respondents. Therefore, males aged 45 years and older, those with low education levels, and those without a personal/family experience of gastric diseases could be a key group in early screening education.