A Case-Control Study on Risk Factors of Uterine Cervix Cancer in Korea

한국인 여성에서 자궁경부암의 위험요인에 관한 환자-대조군 연구

A hospital-based case-control study was carried out to investigate the risk factors of uterine cervical cancer in Korea. Information on a wide-range of life-styles, which might be related with uterine cervix cancer, has been routinely collected through a dual application of the self-administered questionnaire and the direct interview by a well-trained nurse at the Department of Gynecology, Seoul National University Hosiptal since 1992. The number of cervical cancer cases, histologically confirmed at the hospital, were 284. Included were 939 women as controls, who were free of past history of any malignancies. Adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence limits were based on the unconditional logistic regression model. The multivariate logistic model was constructed under the consideration of biologic characteristics on the natural history of the malignancy. In the multivariate results, the uterine cervical cancer risk was higher in women of shorter height$(P_{trend}<0.05)$, less educated spouse$(P_{trend}<0.001)$(0.001), multiple marriages(adjusted OR=2,70, 95% C.I. $1.64\sim4.47$), ever had a family history (adjusted OR=2.14., 95% C.I. $1.18\sim3.89$), multiparity$(P_{trend}<0.001)$, and early age at first $(P_{trend}<0.001)$. These results strongly suggest that the uterine cervix cancer might be related to the reproductive factors, and probably with sexual behaviour of both women and men in Korea.