Table 3.
Cancer risk factors of female firefighter survey respondents, by presence and absence of cancer.
| Domain of inquiry | All respondents1 (n = 1,344) | Respondents without cancer (n = 1,067) | Respondents with cancer (n = 256) | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count (%) | Count (%) | Count (%) | p-value | |
| Tobacco use2,3 | 347 (25.8) | 258 (24.2) | 84 (32.8) | 0.005 a |
| Smoke | 319 (23.7) | 234 (21.9) | 80 (31.3) | 0.428a |
| Smokeless | 36 (2.7) | 29 (2.7) | 7 (2.7) | |
| Alcohol consumption3 | 1,226 (91.2) | 970 (90.9) | 239 (93.4) | 0.210a |
| Hormone use2 | 926 (68.9) | 729 (68.3) | 185 (72.3) | 0.220a |
| Estrogen | 560 (41.7) | 435 (40.8) | 118 (46.1) | 0.076a |
| Progesterone/Progestin | 558 (41.5) | 448 (42.0) | 106 (41.4) | |
| Testosterone | 53 (3.9) | 34 (3.2) | 19 (7.4) | |
| Human growth hormone | 12 (0.9) | 10 (0.9) | * | |
| Androgen | 8 (0.6) | 6 (0.6) | * | |
| Glucocorticoid | * | * | 0 | |
| Other4 | 133 (9.9) | 100 (9.4) | 29 (11.3) | |
| Full-term pregnancy and delivery | 609 (45.3) | 456 (42.7) | 143 (55.9) | 0.005 a |
| Breastfeeding | 536 (39.9) | 407 (38.1) | 122 (47.7) | 0.201a |
| Family history of cancer | 0.088a | |||
| Mother | 277 (20.6) | 222 (20.8) | 55 (21.5) | |
| Father | 246 (18.3) | 196 (18.4) | 50 (19.5) | |
| Sister | 50 (3.7) | 35 (3.3) | 15 (5.9) | |
| Brother | 34 (2.5) | 22 (2.1) | 12 (4.7) | |
| Mean (SD) Median (Q1, Q3) | Mean (SD) Median (Q1, Q3) | Mean (SD) Median (Q1, Q3) | ||
| Years since starting tobacco | 24.3 (10.9) | 22.9 (10.7) | 28.7 (10.6) | <0.001 b |
| Years since stopping tobacco | 16.8 (11.0) | 16.1 (10.6) | 19.1 (11.7) | 0.039 b |
| # Tobacco uses per day | 6 (3, 10) | 5 (2,10) | 7 (5,15) | 0.035 c |
| Years since starting alcohol | 21.9 (10.3) | 20.7 (10.0) | 26.9 (9.7) | <0.001 b |
| Years since stopping alcohol | 1 (0.5, 9) | 1 (0.5, 8) | 4 (1, 12) | 0.089c |
| # Alcohol consumptions/week | 3 (1, 5) | 3 (1, 5) | 3 (1, 5) | 0.575c |
*
= fewer than 5.Bold p-values indicate statistical significance.
1
Responses from respondents with or without a history of cancer and/or precancer may not add up to those of all respondents, as some respondents did not answer every question.
2
Questions in which participants could select more than one option.
3
Tobacco use and alcohol consumption are “in lifetime.”
4
“Other” hormones reported included bioidenticals, hormones for IVF/fertility treatments, Fibristal for treatment of fibroids, DHEA, and contraceptives/IUD.
a
Chi-square test.
b
T-test.
c
Wilcoxon rank-sum test.