Changes in Dietary and Physical Activity Among Korean American Older Adults With a History of Colon Polyps
Minsun Lee,1 Xinrui Ma1,3, and Grace X. Ma,1,2
1 Center for Asian health, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2 Department of Clinical Sciences, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
3 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Background
Most colorectal cancers develop from colonic adenomas or polyps, highlighting the importance of studying the high-risk individuals with a history of colon polyps. Given the association between health behaviors and development of CRC, identifying the factors facilitating healthy behaviors is important to prevent CRC among the high-risk individuals.
Method
For an ongoing longitudinal pilot study, 18 Korean Americans with a history of colon polyps who were aged 50 years or older have been recruited thus far. Baseline information was used in analysis to identify the characteristics of the participants who reported successful change in health behaviors after detection/removal of colon polyps.
Results
Out of 18, 15 participants reported to attempt to change their behaviors, with approximately 50% (n=7) intending to change their diet. Among 15, 8 reported to be successful and 7 reported to be unsuccessful in changing their behaviors. T-test results showed that participants who reported successful change in their health behaviors after detection of colon polyps tended to be older (67.3 vs. 61.1), have better knowledge of health behavior guidelines (2.4 vs. 1.3), engage in greater level of physical activity (1.1 vs. 0.4), and receive greater social support (49.9 vs. 40.4).
Conclusion
In our study, half of individuals with a history of colon polyp were unsuccessful in changing their behaviors despite their intention. Our results indicate the importance of developing programs to support the behavior changes by providing knowledge of health behavior guidelines and strengthening the support from social network.
Acknowledgement: This project was supported by Center for Asian Health’s funds (PI: Grace X. Ma, PhD), and TUFCCC/HC Regional Comprehensive Cancer Health Disparity Partnership, Award Number U54 CA221704(5) (Contact PIs: Grace X. Ma, PhD and Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi, MD, PhD) from the National Cancer Institute of National Institutes of Health (NCI/NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NCI/NIH.
Email questions and comments about this abstract to minsun.lee@temple.edu.
