Cancer Screening Adherence Associates With Climate Change Beliefs 

The public’s perception of climate change and its potential health impacts could affect their cancer screening intentions, according to a study recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 

Researchers explored the link between the public’s interest in cancer screenings and individuals’ awareness of the health impacts of climate change. This study used data from adults who completed the 2021 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), which was released in 2023 and was the first year to incorporate climate change awareness. 

Approximately 46% of the participants reported believing that climate change will cause either “no harm” or only “a little harm” to their health. However, 54% reported that they anticipated climate change will inflict “some” or “a lot” of harm. 

The researchers noted a statistically significant correlation between screening interest and participant perception of the impact of climate change on health (P ≤.001). Higher educational attainment was associated with a greater belief that climate change would harm their health, as were female sex and younger age. 

Participants who thought climate change would cause some or a lot of harm indicated a greater interest in cancer screening in adjusted models. “There were 73% higher odds of reporting interest in cancer screening among those who thought that climate change would harm their health ‘some’ (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.73; 95% CI, 1.26-2.38); there were 84% higher odds of having interest in cancer screening in those who thought climate change would harm their health ‘a lot’ (aOR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.27-2.65),” the researchers wrote. 

Overall, the national awareness of the health impacts of climate change remains low.  Those who are not seriously considering the potential impacts from climate change on health represent a high-risk group that could benefit from targeted interventions. Interventions could incorporate environmental health literacy along with cancer screening information. 

“Our study elucidates a significant correlation between climate change health awareness and cancer screening independent of sociodemographic characteristics, thereby suggesting that those who lack environmental health literacy may also forego opportunities for cancer prevention,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion. “Enhancing environmental health literacy could support adherence to preventive health behaviors, thereby lessening the impacts of climate change on cancer outcomes.”

Disclosures: Some study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.