Table 1.
Descriptive demographic, genetic, cancer history, socioeconomic, and lifestyle-related characteristics of the study population.
| Background Variable | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Healthy | Cancer | Healthy | |
| N = 101 | N = 114 | N = 122 | N = 128 | |
| Age at data collection (years (SD)) | 64.2 (11.2) | 49.5 (14.0) | 65.4 (9.6) | 49.7 (14.0) |
| Age at first cancer (years (SD)) | 45.9 (10.4) | 48.6 (29–79) | ||
| Age at first CRC (years (SD)) | 45.6 (11.1) | 48.4 (29–79) | ||
| Cancers diagnosed (n (%)) | ||||
| CRC | 89 (88.1) | 77 (63.1) | ||
| Endometrial cancer | 17 (16.8) | 57 (46.7) | ||
| Other cancers a | 30 (24.6) | |||
| MMR gene affected (n (%)) | ||||
| MLH1 | 50 (49.5) | 56 (49.1) | 50 (41.0) | 64 (50.0) |
| MLH1 other than exon 16 deletion | 24 (23.8) | 26 (22.8) | 35 (28.7) | 34 (26.6) |
| MSH2 | 15 (14.9) | 22 (19.3) | 26 (21.3) | 13 (10.2) |
| MSH6 | 10 (9.9) | 10 (8.8) | 11 (9.0) | 17 (13.3) |
| PMS2 | 2 (2.0) | |||
| Socioeconomic characteristics | ||||
| Education (n (%)) | ||||
| Basic education | 20 (19.8) | 13 (11.4) | 36 (29.5) | 16 (12.5) |
| Upper secondary degrees | 46 (45.6) | 60 (52.6) | 51 (41.8) | 63 (49.4) |
| Polytechnic degree | 13 (12.9) | 18 (15.8) | 11 (9.0) | 19 (14.8) |
| University degree | 22 (21.8) | 23 (20.2) | 24 (19.7) | 30 (23.4) |
| Occupational status (n (%)) # | ||||
| Worker/employee | 40 (39.6) | 76 (66.7) | 47 (39.2) | 92 (72.4) |
| Retired | 45 (44.6) | 18 (15.8) | 56 (46.7) | 22 (17.3) |
| Other b | 16 (15.8) | 20 (17.5) | 17 (14.2) | 13 (10.3) |
| Marital status (n (%)) | ||||
| Living alone | 20 (19.8) | 22 (19.3) | 40 (32.8) | 32 (25.0) |
| Married/cohabitation | 81 (80.2) | 92 (80.7) | 82 (67.2) | 96 (75.0) |
| Perceived health and physical fitness | ||||
| Self-rated health (n (%)) | ||||
| Poor | 16 (15.8) | 13 (11.4) | 15 (12.3) | 19 (14.8) |
| Average | 39 (38.6) | 27 (23.7) | 49 (40.2) | 32 (25.0) |
| Good | 46 (45.5) | 74 (64.9) | 57 (46.7) | 77 (60.2) |
| Self-rated physical fitness (n (%)) | ||||
| Poor | 22 (21.8) | 18 (15.8) | 16 (13.1) | 21 (16.4) |
| Average | 39 (38.6) | 29 (25.4) | 50 (41.0) | 40 (31.3) |
| Good | 40 (39.6) | 67 (58.8) | 56 (45.9) | 67 (52.3) |
| Lifestyle variables | ||||
| Alcohol consumption (portions/week (SD)) # | 4.8 (6.5) | 4.8 (5.3) | 2.3 (3.5) | 3.0 (4.3) |
| Smoking status (n (%)) # | ||||
| Never | 43 (42.6) | 45 (39.5) | 61 (50.0) | 64 (50.0) |
| Former | 47 (46.5) | 48 (42.1) | 52 (42.6) | 46 (35.9) |
| Current | 11 (10.9) | 21 (18.4) | 8 (6.6) | 17 (13.3) |
| Use of anti-inflammatory drugs (n (%)) # | ||||
| No | 83 (85.6) | 89 (78.1) | 88 (72.7) | 84 (65.6) |
| Yes | 14 (14.4) | 25 (21.9) | 33 (27.3) | 44 (34.4) |
| Current physical activity (n (%)) # | ||||
| Low | 28 (28.0) | 23 (20.2) | 23 (18.9) | 21 (16.4) |
| Medium | 32 (32.0) | 24 (21.1) | 44 (36.1) | 47 (36.7) |
| High | 40 (40.0) | 67 (58.8) | 55 (45.1) | 60 (46.9) |
| BMI (kg/m2 (SD)) # | 27.2 (5.3) | 26.6 (4.2) | 27.1 (5.8) | 27.6 (11.6) |
| BMI categories (n (%)) # | ||||
| Underweight | 2 (2.0) | 2 (1.8) | 1 (0.8) | 2 (1.6) |
| Normal weight | 40 (40.0) | 38 (33.3) | 48 (40.7) | 56 (44.1) |
| Overweight | 34 (34.0) | 57 (50.0) | 39 (33.1) | 34 (26.8) |
| Obese | 24 (24.0) | 17 (14.9) | 30 (25.4) | 35 (27.6) |
| Waist circumference (cm (SD)) # | 100.5 (14.4) | 97.8 (11.0) | 90.6 (14.4) | 88.6 (14.5) |
# Missing data: occupational status n = 3, alcohol consumption n = 3, smoking status n = 2, anti-inflammatory drugs n = 5, BMI and BMI categories n = 6, current physical activity n = 1, waist circumference n = 8. a other cancers included breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and skin cancers; b other included students, unemployed, and persons on parental leave. BMI = body mass index; CRC = colorectal cancer.