Patterns of modifiable behaviors for cancer prevention among native and foreign-born vulnerable populations

Overall, individuals from vulnerable populations – groups who are less integrated because of their ethnicity/race, citizenship, or economic status – are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer, suffer from larger tumors, and experience higher rates of cancer mortality. Individual behaviors have been shown to modify these risks. For example, lower rates of cancer screening and higher rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyle and smoking are described as independent risk factors for multiple cancers. To understand the link between behavior and cancer risk among vulnerable groups, specifically immigrants, this study links data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (years 2000-2008) to the National Health Interview Survey to examine patterns and identify predictors of modifiable behaviors for cancer prevention among U.S. adults aged 18 years and older (N=190,965). This work provides a foundation for translation into future community-engaged interventions for cancer prevention among U.S.- and foreign-born vulnerable populations, whose communities hold a disproportionate burden of cancer health disparities that may be largely explained by social and behavioral determinants of health that inequitably impact modifiable risk factors for cancer prevention.