Need to Pay More Attention to Attendance at Follow-Up Consultation after Cancer Screening in Smokers and Drinkers

Background: Follow-up clinical consultations could improve overall health status as well provide knowledgeand education for cancer prevention. Materials and
Methods: This is the cross-sectional study using the KoreanCommunity Health Survey (KCHS) 6th edition for 2012, with 115,083 respondents who underwent cancercheckups selected as subjects. Associations between the presence of consultation and the socioeconomic statuswere determined using statistical methods with the SAS 9·3 statistical package (Cary, NC, USA). Findings: Amongthe recipients, 32,179 (28.0%) received clinical consultations after cancer screenings. Those in rural areas (oddsratio, OR=0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.69-0.73) visited follow-up clinics less frequently than did those inurban areas. Starting at the elementary school level, as the education level increased to middle school (OR=1.26,95% CI: 1.19-1.34), high school (OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.23-1.36) or college (OR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.65-1·89), theparticipation rates also increased. When compared with the lowest quartile group, the quartile income levelshowed a statistical trend and difference as follows: second lowest quartile (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.07-1.16), thirdlowest (OR=1·12, 95% CI: 1.07-1.17) and highest quartile income (OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.23-1.35). In addition,the people with economic activities (OR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.84-0.90) visited follow-up clinics less frequently thandid the others. Current smokers (OR=0·93, 95% CI: 0.89-0.98) and inveterate drinkers (OR=0.88, 95% CI:0.85-0.94) had a tendency to visit less often than did non-smokers and other drinkers with all cancers combined.Interpretation: We suggest primary prevention through lifestyle modifications including smoking and drinking,and environmental interventions may offer the most cost-effective approach to reduce the cancer burden.