Family History of Lung Cancer and Risk Perceptions among Current Smokers, Former Smokers, and Non-Smokers

Although lung cancer is primarily attributed to cigarette smoking, individuals with a family history of lung cancer have a two- to three-fold increased risk for developing the disease. Family history information has been advocated for use in disease prevention and control programs, but it is unclear how lay individuals interpret the relationship between family history and disease risk. This study therefore examined associations between lung cancer family history and individuals' absolute and relative risk perceptions among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults based on smoking status. Data from 5,105 respondents to the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey were analyzed. After controlling for covariates in multivariate linear regression models, family history of lung cancer was positively associated with both absolute and relative risk perceptions among all respondents (ß= 0.60; 95% CI: 0.33-0.87 and ß=0.17; 95% CI: 0.04-0.31, respectively) and non-smokers (ß= 0.40; 95% CI: 0.14-0.67 and ß= 0.14; 95% CI: 0.01-0.27, respectively). However, for current and former smokers, family history was not significantly associated with either risk perception variable. The findings show that, although family history of lung cancer was associated with risk perceptions in the overall sample, among smoking status subgroups, this relationship only existed for non-smokers. These findings indicate that current and former smokers might not respond as intended to cessation or other lung cancer prevention messages tailored based on family history. The results suggest avenues for future exploration of how best to integrate lung cancer family history information into cancer prevention and control efforts.