Table 3.
Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models for self‐reported symptom help-seeking in participants who experienced at least one potential cancer symptom (n=3025*)
| Did not contact GP† n=1355 | Contacted GP† n=1636 | Crude OR (95% CI) |
Adjusted OR (95% CI) n=2281 |
|
| Age (years) n=2942 | ||||
| 18–24 | 127 (46.4) | 147 (53.6) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| 25–34 | 199 (49.7) | 201 (50.3) | 0.87 (0.64 to 1.19) | 0.80 (0.52 to 1.24) |
| 35–44 | 196 (45.7) | 233 (54.3) | 1.03 (0.76 to 1.39) | 1.12 (0.73 to 1.71) |
| 45–54 | 211 (47.1) | 237 (52.9) | 0.97 (0.72 to 1.31) | 1.11 (0.72 to 1.70) |
| 55–64 | 220 (45.2) | 267 (54.8) | 1.05 (0.78 to 1.41) | 1.08 (0.70 to 1.67) |
| 65–74 | 284 (41.8) | 396 (58.2) | 1.20 (0.91 to 1.60) | 1.29 (0.83 to 2.00) |
| 75+ | 97 (43.3) | 127 (56.7) | 1.13 (0.79 to 1.61) | 1.20 (0.72 to 2.00) |
| P value | 0.261 | 0.321 | ||
| Gender n=2978 | ||||
| Male | 625 (43.7) | 804 (56.3) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Female | 727 (46.9) | 822 (53.1) | 0.88 (0.76 to 1.02) | 0.99 (0.82 to 1.21) |
| P value | 0.080 | 0.951 | ||
| Ethnicity n=2988 | ||||
| White | 1193 (45.0) | 1457 (55.0) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Ethnic minorities‡ | 160 (47.3) | 178 (52.7) | 0.91 (0.73 to 1.14) | 0.85 (0.61 to 1.18) |
| P value | 0.420 | 0.328 | ||
| Country n=2971 | ||||
| England | 854 (47.2) | 955 (52.8) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Wales | 405 (42.5) | 549 (57.5) | 1.21 (1.03 to 1.42) | 1.23 (0.98 to 1.54) |
| Scotland | 72 (43.1) | 95 (56.9) | 1.18 (0.86 to 1.62) | 1.35 (0.90 to 2.02) |
| Northern Ireland | 15 (36.6) | 26 (63.4) | 1.55 (0.82 to 2.95) | 1.79 (0.62 to 5.20) |
| P value | 0.062 | 0.140 | ||
| Country/Region§ n=2971 | ||||
| Wales | 405 (42.5) | 549 (57.5) | ref (1.0) | |
| Scotland | 72 (43.1) | 95 (56.9) | 0.97 (0.70 to 1.36) | |
| Northern Ireland | 15 (36.6) | 26 (63.4) | 1.28 (0.67 to 2.55) | |
| England | ||||
| North East England | 59 (53.6) | 51 (46.4) | 0.64 (0.43 to 0.95) | |
| North West England | 109 (45.2) | 132 (54.8) | 0.89 (0.67 to 1.19) | |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 85 (47.0) | 96 (53.0) | 0.83 (0.61 to 1.15) | |
| East Midlands | 72 (50.3) | 71 (49.7) | 0.73 (0.51 to 1.03) | |
| South East England | 130 (45.8) | 154 (54.2) | 0.87 (0.67 to 1.14) | |
| East Anglia | 72 (43.1) | 95 (56.9) | 0.97 (0.70 to 1.36) | |
| South West England | 84 (48.0) | 91 (52.0) | 0.80 (0.58 to 1.10) | |
| West Midlands | 96 (46.6) | 110 (53.4) | 0.85 (0.62 to 1.14) | |
| London | 147 (48.7) | 155 (51.3) | 0.78 (0.60 to 1.01) | |
| P value | 0.379 | |||
| Highest level of education n=2934 | ||||
| Degree or higher degree | 514 (47.2) | 574 (52.8) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| A levels or further education | 460 (46.2) | 536 (53.8) | 1.04 (0.88 to 1.24) | 0.91 (0.73 to 1.14) |
| O levels/GCSEs | 265 (42.3) | 362 (57.7) | 1.22 (1.00 to 1.49) | 1.07 (0.83 to 1.39) |
| Still studying | 16 (36.4) | 28 (63.6) | 1.57 (0.84 to 2.93) | 1.21 (0.51 to 2.89) |
| No formal qualifications | 73 (40.8) | 106 (59.2) | 1.30 (0.94 to 1.79) | 0.77 (0.51 to 1.16) |
| P value | 0.127 | 0.494 | ||
| Smoking status n=2948 | ||||
| Never smoked | 595 (50.6) | 580 (49.4) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Former smoker | 436 (41.2) | 623 (58.8) | 1.47 (1.24 to 1.73) | 1.16 (0.94 to 1.44) |
| Current smoker | 302 (42.3) | 412 (57.7) | 1.40 (1.16 to 1.69) | 1.03 (0.80 to 1.32) |
| P value | <0.001 | 0.358 | ||
| Marital relationship n=2976 | ||||
| Not married or cohabiting | 516 (46.4) | 597 (53.6) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Married or cohabiting | 831 (44.6) | 1032 (55.4) | 1.07 (0.92 to 1.25) | 0.95 (0.78 to 1.16) |
| P value | 0.352 | 0.647 | ||
| Disability n=2900 | ||||
| No | 1042 (50.7) | 1014 (49.3) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Yes | 281 (33.3) | 563 (66.7) | 2.06 (1.74 to 2.43) | 1.38 (1.11 to 1.71) |
| P value | <0.001 | 0.003 | ||
| Experience of cancer n=2991 | ||||
| No | 270 (50.3) | 267 (49.7) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Yes, other (family and friends)¶ | 974 (45.8) | 1154 (54.2) | 1.20 (0.99 to 1.45) | 1.09 (0.84 to 1.43) |
| Yes, self | 111 (34.0) | 215 (66.0) | 1.96 (1.47 to 2.60) | 1.12 (0.76 to 1.66) |
| P value | <0.001 | 0.783 | ||
| Symptom attributed to cancer¶ n=2990 | ||||
| Not cancer | 1342 (45.6) | 1601 (54.4) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Cancer | 12 (25.5) | 35 (74.5) | 2.44 (1.26 to 4.73) | 1.30 (0.56 to 3.04) |
| P value | 0.008 | 0.547 | ||
| Symptom attributed to COVID¶ n=2990 | ||||
| Not COVID | 1214 (44.0) | 1547 (56.0) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| COVID | 140 (61.1) | 89 (38.9) | 0.50 (0.38 to 0.66) | 0.36 (0.25 to 0.52) |
| P value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
| Number of barriers to help-seeking (0–17) n=2991 Median (25th–75th centiles) |
1 (1 to 3) | 1 (1 to 3) | 1.04 (1.00 to 1.08) | 0.97 (0.92 to 1.03) |
| P value | 0.057 | 0.315 | ||
| Confident that I would be safe from coronavirus if I needed to attend an appointment at a hospital n=2645 | ||||
| Strongly agree | 251 (44.7) | 311 (55.3) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Somewhat agree | 518 (44.3) | 650 (55.7) | 1.01 (0.83 to 1.24) | 0.86 (0.64 to 1.15) |
| Somewhat disagree | 268 (44.0) | 341 (56.0) | 1.03 (0.82 to 1.29) | 0.74 (0.51 to 1.06) |
| Strongly disagree | 149 (48.7) | 157 (51.3) | 0.85 (0.64 to 1.12) | 0.58 (0.36 to 0.94) |
| P value | 0.547 | 0.150 | ||
| Confident that I would be safe from coronavirus if I needed to attend an appointment at my GP surgery n=2692 | ||||
| Strongly agree | 337 (47.3) | 375 (52.7) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Somewhat agree | 545 (44.1) | 690 (55.9) | 1.14 (0.95 to 1.37) | 1.21 (0.92 to 1.58) |
| Somewhat disagree | 217 (41.1) | 311 (58.9) | 1.29 (1.03 to 1.62) | 1.47 (1.02 to 2.12) |
| Strongly disagree | 102 (47.0) | 115 (53.0) | 1.01 (0.75 to 1.37) | 0.93 (0.55 to 1.56) |
| P value | 0.146 | 0.082 | ||
| Worried about delays to cancer tests and investigations caused by COVID-19 n=2720 | ||||
| Strongly agree | 479 (43.8) | 614 (56.2) | ref (1.0) | ref (1.0) |
| Somewhat agree | 534 (46.2) | 621 (53.8) | 0.91 (0.77 to 1.07) | 1.03 (0.83 to 1.25) |
| Somewhat disagree | 126 (41.0) | 181 (59.0) | 1.12 (0.87 to 1.45) | 1.18 (0.86 to 1.62) |
| Strongly disagree | 77 (46.7) | 88 (53.3) | 0.89 (0.64 to 1.24) | 0.97 (0.65 to 1.45) |
| P value | 0.340 | 0.762 | ||
| Cancer symptom recognition score (score 0–15) n=2991 Median (25th–75th centiles) |
11 (8 to 14) | 11 (8 to 14) | 1.00 (0.99 to 1.02) | 1.01 (0.99 to 1.04) |
| P value | 0.789 | 0.263 | ||
| Number of symptoms (maximum 15) n=2991 Median (25th–75th centiles) |
1 (1 to 2) | 2 (1 to 4) | 1.62 (1.53 to 1.72) | 1.68 (1.56 to 1.82) |
| P value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
Data are n (%) and unweighted unless otherwise stated.
An OR >1 indicates increased odds of help-seeking.
*n=34 participants indicated that they prefer not to say across all symptoms and were excluded from the analysis.
†Did not contact the GP for symptoms reported in the last 6 months/contacted the GP for at least one symptom in the last 6 months.
‡Ethnicity groups combined for analysis due to small numbers: ‘mixed/multiple ethnic groups’, ‘Asian/Asian British’, ‘black/African/Caribbean/black British’, ‘other ethnic group’, ‘prefer not to say’.
§Not included in multivariable model due to collinearity with country.
¶Participants stated that cancer was experienced in friends and family only and not in self.
GP, general practitioner; ref, reference.