Healthy lifestyles of contemporary Chinese population: challenges and new initiatives in primary cancer prevention
https://doi.org/10.47093/3034-4700.2025.2.1.38-52
Abstract
Greater than 40% of cancer can be prevented through modifiable risk factors. The World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research recommended healthy lifestyles for cancer prevention. No study, however, has investigated adoption rate of cancer prevention lifestyles in China. This article utilized data from a baseline survey of major cancer related risk factors in China including 89,045 participants. The results showed that the adoption rate of healthy lifestyles for cancer prevention among the contemporary Chinese population was 24.49%. Women (28.91%), individuals aged 40 years or older (26.43%-38.41%), had lower education level (27.60%), lived in rural areas (29.24%) and high or middle human development index regions (24.98%), and were unemployed (29.14%) had higher adoption rates. The adoption rate of healthy lifestyles was lowest among participants aged 25–29 years (14.16%) and showed an increased trend with age (P for trend < 0.001), with similar trends observed across subgroups stratified by sex, education level, residential area, and employment status (all P for trend < 0.001). Despite challenges in implementing primary cancer prevention, recent initiatives such as China Code Against Cancer and the Smart Health Management Digital Platform for Primary Cancer Prevention are expected to promote healthy lifestyles among the Chinese population, supported by national policies and international guidelines.
Keywords
preventive oncology,
modifiable risk factors,
lifestyle adoption,
Smart Health Management,
Code Against Cancer
Supporting agencies: This study was supported by the Nonprofit Central Research Institute Fund of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (grant number 2021-RC310-009), the Capital’s Funds for Health Improvement and Research (grant number 2022-1G-4023), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 82204168).
About the Authors
M. Wu
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Mengyao Wu, PhD candidate, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
H. Huang
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Huang Huang, PhD, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
P. Sun
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Peiyuan Sun, PhD candidate, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
R. Qie
Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital;
Henan Engineering Research Center of Cancer Prevention and Control;
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Cancer Prevention
China
China
Ranran Qie, PhD, Department of Cancer Epidemiology
Zhengzhou, Henan, China
Zh. Hu
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Zhuolun Hu, MSPH, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
Q. Yan
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Qi Yan, PhD candidate, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
R. Fu
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Ruiying Fu, PhD candidate, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
Yu. Lin
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Yubing Lin, Master candidate, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
X. Ma
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Xiuqi Ma, PhD, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
Ya. Zhang
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Yawei Zhang, PhD, Chair, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control
Beijing, 100021, China
J. He
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital;
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences;
Peking Union Medical College
China
China
Jie He, MD, President
Beijing, 100021, China
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Supplementary files
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1. Supplement A. The Scoring System of 2018 WCRF/AICR Recommendations in this Study. | |
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2. Supplement B. China Code Against Cancer. For more information on China Code Against Cancer, please refer to the website (https://ccacdcpc.org.cn/en). | |
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For citations:
Wu M., Huang H., Sun P., Qie R., Hu Zh., Yan Q., Fu R., Lin Yu., Ma X., Zhang Ya., He J. Healthy lifestyles of contemporary Chinese population: challenges and new initiatives in primary cancer prevention. The BRICS Health Journal. 2025;2(1):38-52. https://doi.org/10.47093/3034-4700.2025.2.1.38-52
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