Table 3.
Odds Ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals for Higher Stage Disease by Cultural/Folk Beliefs and Religiosity/Spirituality Characteristics
| Adjusteda | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage I–II (%) | Stage III–IV (%) | OR (95% CI) | |
| Cultural/folk beliefs | |||
| “Air causes a cancer to grow faster” | |||
| Agree | 23.0 | 23.8 | 1.18 (0.76–1.83) |
| Not agree | 77.0 | 76.2 | 1.00 |
| “Surgery causes a cancer to grow faster” | |||
| Agree | 19.7 | 14.6 | 0.67 (0.41–1.10) |
| Not agree | 80.3 | 85.4 | 1.00 |
| “People with high blood pressure are more likely to get cancer” | |||
| Agree | 6.1 | 5.2 | 0.75 (0.34–1.67) |
| Not agree | 93.9 | 94.8 | 1.00 |
| “Someone can give you cancer by putting a root or spell on you” | |||
| Agree | 1.41 | 1.2 | 1.01 (0.21–4.83) |
| Not agree | 98.6 | 98.8 | 1.00 |
| “If a person worries about their cancer, it will get worse” | |||
| Agree | 45.5 | 47.1 | 1.18 (0.82–1.70) |
| Not agree | 54.5 | 52.9 | 1.00 |
| “If a person prays about cancer, God will heal it without medical treatment” | |||
| Agree | 40.1 | 40.3 | 0.99 (0.68–1.45) |
| Not agree | 59.9 | 59.7 | 1.00 |
| “The devil can cause a person to get cancer” | |||
| Agree | 9.4 | 7.6 | 0.83 (0.43–1.58) |
| Not agree | 90.6 | 92.4 | 1.00 |
| “When I get sick, I am to blame” | |||
| Agree | 6.1 | 5.2 | 0.67 (0.30–1.47) |
| Not agree | 93.9 | 94.8 | 1.00 |
| “If it's meant to be, I will stay healthy” | |||
| Agree | 40.9 | 38.8 | 0.86 (0.59–1.26) |
| Not agree | 59.2 | 61.2 | 1.00 |
| “Health professionals control my health” | |||
| Agree | 20.7 | 22.0 | 1.11 (0.71–1.75) |
| Not agree | 79.3 | 78.0 | 1.00 |
| Religiosity/spirituality | |||
| Religious service attendance | |||
| ≤1 × /month | 29.9 | 21.0 | 1.00 |
| 2–3 × /month | 15.9 | 14.0 | 1.47 (0.82–2.64) |
| 1 × /week | 38.3 | 40.7 | 1.50 (0.93–2.40) |
| Several times/week | 15.9 | 24.3 | 1.98 (1.11–3.52) |
| Frequency of prayer | |||
| ≤1 × /week | 4.7 | 3.0 | 1.00 |
| Several times/week | 4.7 | 1.5 | 0.61 (0.14–2.74) |
| 1–2 × /day | 24.3 | 26.8 | 1.97 (0.68–5.73) |
| Many times/day | 66.4 | 68.7 | 2.02 (0.72–5.64) |
| Extent religion/spirituality is involved in dealing with stressful situations | |||
| Not at all/not very | 2.8 | 3.0 | 1.00 |
| Somewhat | 15.9 | 10.3 | 0.66 (0.19–2.25) |
| Very | 81.3 | 86.6 | 1.15 (0.37–3.63) |
| Extent you consider yourself a religious/spiritual person | |||
| Not/slightly | 8.5 | 4.9 | 1.00 |
| Moderately | 36.2 | 26.2 | 1.33 (0.59–3.02) |
| Very | 55.4 | 68.9 | 2.35 (1.07–5.18) |
a
Adjusted for age, education, income, geographic region, BMI, family history of breast/ovarian cancer, oral contraceptive use, and parity.
BMI, body mass index.