Breast Cancer Worry and Associated Factors Among Female University Students: A Cross- Sectional Study

Saraç F. S., Baksi A., Horzum Ş., Bilgiç Ü. S.

Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, cilt.17, sa.2, ss.235-244, 2026 (TRDizin)

Özet

Aim: The study aimed to examine the level of breast cancer worry and the factors that might be associated with it among university students. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive research was conducted on 347 female university students. The data was collected using the Descriptive Characteristic Form and Breast Cancer Worry Scale and evaluated with descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis. Results: The mean age of participants is 20.65±2.18 (minmax=18-35), and the mean score of the breast cancer worry scale is 8.24±4.7 (min-max=0-20). 69,5% of the students are studying health-related departments, 51% are using the web for medical research, and 13,3% have breast cancer history in their families. It was found that 62% of students had made self-breast examinations at least one time in their life, 12,1% had breast problems, and 26,5% had breast cancer worry. Factors contributing to worry about breast cancer include age (OR=0.84, p=0.040), being a third-year student (OR=2.29, p=0.049), having a family retirement fund (OR=2.06, p=0.042), knowing the breast cancer risk factors (OR=2.24, p=0.036), and having had a clinical breast examination before (OR=3.05, p=0.014). It was determined that those who know breast cancer risk factors had 2.24 times the odds of breast cancer worry, and those who had undergone a clinical breast examination had 3.05 times the odds of breast cancer worry. Conclusion: Examining the research findings reveals the level of breast cancer worry is low among university students. Also, it was found that breast cancer worry is affected by situations like age, social security, knowing the breast cancer risk factors, and having had a clinical breast examination before.