Table 2.

Perceptions of the causes of colorectal cancer %

	Total (n = 875)	Indian (n = 234)	Pakistani (n = 166)	Bangladeshi (n = 63)	Caribbean (n = 126)	African (n = 108)	Chinese (n = 53)	white-British (n = 125)
Don't know (n = 348)	39.8	37.6	50.0	65.1	45.2	48.1	24.5	11.2
Diet (n = 274) – breakdown below	31.3	34.2	23.4	17.5	28.4	23.1	45.3	47.2
Bad diet (fast food, fatty foods) (n = 114)	13.0	13.7	7.2	3.2	10.1	12.0	24.6	24.8
Low fruits/vegetables diet (n = 34)	3.9	5.1	3.0	1.6	1.8	0.9	5.7	8.0
Low fibre/roughage diet (n = 27)	3.1	2.2	0.6	3.2	1.8	3.7	7.6	7.2
Spicy foods (n = 24)	2.7	3.9	3.6	3.2	3.7	0	3.8	0.8
Meat (n = 20)	2.3	3.4	2.4	0	4.6	2.8	0	0
Water (n = 20)	2.3	2.6	1.8	3.2	0.9	0.9	1.9	4.8
Cholesterol (n = 8)	0.9	1.3	1.8	0	1.8	0	0	0
Refined foods (n = 7)	0.8	1.3	1.2	1.6	0	0	1.9	0
Milk/dairy products (n = 5)	0.6	0.8	0.6	0	0.9	0.9	0	0
Salt/sugar (n = 5)	0.6	0	1.2	1.6	0	0.9	1.9	0
Carbohydrates (n = 4)	0.4	0	0	0	2.8	0	0	0.8
Caffeine (n = 3)	0.3	0.4	0	1.6	0.9	0	0	0
Fish (n = 2)	0.3	0	0	0	0.9	0	0	0.8
Protein (n = 1)	0.1	0.4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lifestyle (alcohol, smoking, weight, exercise, hygiene) (n = 94)	10.7	7.7	9.6	1.6	10.4	11.2	5.7	22.4
Psychological factors (stress, depression) (n = 53)	6.0	7.3	4.2	3.2	10.3	6.5	7.5	2.4
Environmental factors (pollution, preservatives) (n = 37)	4.0	3.4	4.8	6.3	4.0	2.8	3.8	5.6
Health problems (n = 29)	3.3	4.2	2.4	3.2	4.0	3.7	1.9	1.6
Family history (n = 17)	1.9	1.3	3.0	0	1.6	0.9	1.9	4.0
Lack of knowledge/ignorance (n = 12)	1.3	1.7	0	1.6	0	0.9	0	4.8
Other (n = 9)	1.0	0.9	1.2	1.6	0.8	0.9	0	1.6
Drugs/medicines (n = 5)	0.6	0.4	0	0	0.8	1.9	0	0.8
Chance (n = 5)	0.6	0.4	0.6	0	0	0	0	2.4
Psychosocial factors (e.g. poverty, unemployment) (n = 4)	0.4	0.9	1.2	0	0	0	0	0

NB: counts do not add up to 100% in each column as some participants mentioned more than one factor. In the diet breakdown percentages are for the whole sample.