title: Awareness levels about breast cancer risk factors, early warning signs, and screening and therapeutic approaches among Iranian adult women: a large population based study using latent class analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Breast cancer (BC) continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality among women throughout the world and in Iran. Lack of awareness and early detection program in developing country is a main reason for escalating the mortality. The present research was conducted to assess the Iranian women's level of knowledge about breast cancer risk factors, early warning signs, and therapeutic and screening approaches, and their correlated determinants.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study, 2250 women before participating at a community based screening and public educational program in an institute of cancer research in Isfahan, Iran, in 2012 were investigated using a self-administered questionnaire about risk factors, early warning signs, and therapeutic and screening approaches of BC. Latent class regression as a comprehensive statistical method was used for evaluating the level of knowledge and its correlated determinants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 33.2%, 31.9%, 26.7%, and 35.8% of study participants had high awareness levels about screening approaches, risk factors, early warning signs and therapeutic modalities of breast cancer, respectively, and majority had poor to moderate knowledge levels. Most effective predictors of high level of awareness were higher educational qualifications, attending in screening and public educational programs, personal problem, and family history of BC, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of current study indicated that the levels of awareness among study population about key elements of BC are low. These findings reenforce the continuing need for more BC education through conducting public and professional programs that are intended to raise awareness among younger, single women and those with low educational attainments and without family history.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 81746-73461, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tazhibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 81746-73461, Iran.
authors.forename: Awat
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1930-0340
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feizi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires