Trend in Prevalence of Smoking and Motivation to Quit among Korean Adult Male Cancer Survivors over the Last 8 Years: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V–VII (2010–2017)

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate trends in the prevalence of current smokers and motivation to quit among Korean male cancer survivors. METHODS: Out of 20,012 men who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V (2010–2012), VI (2013–2015), and VII (2016–2017), 742 cancer survivors were included. A cancer survivor was defined as a person who concurred to the item, “The cancer has been diagnosed by a doctor” in the health questionnaire. Smoking status was classified as current, former, and never smokers. Regarding motivation to quit smoking, we defined those who had a willingness to quit within 6 months as the willing group. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine trends in the prevalence of current smokers and the proportion of the willing group among current smokers. RESULTS: Overall, 3.7% of Korean men who participated in the study were cancer survivors. Current smokers constituted 19.5%, 19.1%, and 15.3% of cancer survivors in phases V, VI, and VII respectively which did not show significant changes (P for trend=0.33). However, the proportion of current smokers in the non-cancer group was significantly reduced to 46.6%, 41.2%, and 38.9% in phases V, VI, and VII, respectively (P for trend <0.001). The proportion of those with a motivation to quit smoking did not show a significant trend in the cancer survivors (P for trend=0.964) and non-cancer group (P for trend=0.884). CONCLUSION: Prevalence of current smokers and motivation to quit in Korean male cancer survivors did not show significant trends.