Investigators have discovered that individuals who view climate change as a health threat may be more likely to undergo cancer screening, according to a recent study published by Qian et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The recent findings supported the development of public health interventions that incorporate components of environmental health literacy along with cancer screening efforts.
Background
The current climate crisis may have wide-ranging implications for human health and could influence perceptions about personal health.
Addressing the root causes of climate change may help to reduce the risk for cancer. For instance, individuals who reduce their meat consumption to diminish greenhouse gas emissions may also mitigate a significant cancer risk factor. Additionally, lifestyle modifications such as active commuting and preserving greenspace have been associated with decreased cancer risks while also supporting environmental health.
Previous studies have demonstrated both direct and indirect links between cancer and climate change. Certain consequences of climate change—including ozone depletion and the emergence of more environmental carcinogens—may cause cancer, and extreme weather events may disrupt cancer care as well as access to general health care.
Study Methods and Results
In the recent study, the investigators used responses from the 2021 National Cancer Institute’s annual Health Information and National Trends Survey to analyze individuals’ views on climate change and their interest in cancer screening. The investigators then categorized the respondents’ perceived risk of climate change to their personal health as “no harm” or “little harm” vs “some harm” or “a lot of harm.” They also assessed the respondents’ interest in undergoing cancer screening the following year, categorized as “not at all” and “a little” vs “somewhat” and “very.”
The investigators found that 54% of the survey respondents believed climate change would cause “some” or “a lot” of harm to their health. Those who thought climate change posed “some” risk to their health and could harm their health “a lot” were 73% and 84% more likely to express interest in cancer screening, respectively.
Additionally, the investigators found that those who saw climate change as a personal health threat were more likely to endorse interest in cancer screening. Respondents who were younger, female, and more educated had a higher risk of perceiving climate change as a health threat. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic individuals expressed a higher interest in cancer screening than non-Hispanic White individuals.
Conclusions
“Our findings suggest that individuals who are more aware of the potential health impacts of climate change may also be more overall health conscious, which may drive their interest in preventive health-care measures such as cancer screening,” revealed senior study author Alexander P. Cole, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology and the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Awareness of climate change impacts could also prompt individuals to take more proactive steps to protect their health in the face of environmental threats,” he added.
The investigators noted that their new research was retrospective and did not prove causation. They added that future studies may need to explore whether climate change awareness could directly impact cancer screening behaviors.
“We see room for improvement in climate change awareness overall as well as some racial disparities underlying some of the differences in awareness,” stressed lead study author Zhiyu Qian, MD, a resident in the Department of Urology and research fellow at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “There are a lot of ways to interpret this, and one could be that more vulnerable populations are already feeling more of the impacts from climate change,” he emphasized.
The investigators plan to continue evaluating the specific means by which cancer care can be impacted by climate change and working to improve sustainability in cancer care and adaptability of the health-care system such as by increasing the accessibility and quality of telehealth.
“Cancer care is multidisciplinary, extremely complex, [and requires] a well-functioning health-care system for it to work,” underscored Dr. Cole. “Raising awareness is a big piece as is changing the health-care system. There are so many exciting opportunities to do this through public awareness, health-care delivery, and lifestyle and diet modifications—where you can do things that are great for planetary health as well as for patients’ health and cancer risk,” he concluded.
Disclosure: The research in this study was funded by the American Cancer Society, Pfizer Global Medical Grants, the Bruce A. Beal and Robert L. Beal Surgical Fellowship of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Surgery, and a Physician Research Award from the Department of Defense. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit academic.oup.com.
