Health behaviors of head and neck cancer patients the first year after diagnosis

Background. This prospective, cohort study is the first to describe 5 health behaviors of head and neck cancer patients the first year after diagnosis. Methods. Patients (N ¼ 283) were recruited in otolaryngol- ogy clinic waiting rooms and asked to complete written surveys. A medical record audit was also conducted. Descriptive statis- tics and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine which variables were associated with the 5 health behaviors. Results. Half of the patients smoked and 25% were problem drinkers. Over half of the smokers and drinkers quit 1 year post- diagnosis. Smoking and problem drinking were highly associ- ated and both were associated with lower body mass index (BMI) (p < .01). Moreover, physical activity and sleep were associated with each other (p < .01). Low SLEEP (Medical Out- comes Study Sleep Scale) scores were common and highly associated with depression (p < .01). Conclusion. The health behaviors of head and neck cancer patients are interrelated, and assessing and treating these behaviors together may be beneficial. V C 2007 Wiley Periodi