{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T08:28:53Z","timestamp":1787041733894,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787011200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health","IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Breast cancer is a leading public health concern among low- and middle-income countries, primarily due to inadequate knowledge and lack of early detection practices. This study aimed to assess knowledge about the signs and symptoms, risk factors, and screening procedures for breast cancer, and barriers and perceptions of screening, among female university students of Pakistan to explore the relationship between socio-demographic variables and levels of knowledge about breast cancer. A total of 413 participants took part in a cross-sectional survey and completed a self-administrative online questionnaire. The results reflected an overall poor knowledge among female students, with only 3.9% demonstrating adequate knowledge about risk factors and 7.7% correctly recognizing 80% or more relevant signs and symptoms. Embarrassment (58.8%) and lack of confidence in communicating symptoms with healthcare providers (50.6%) were the most commonly reported barriers for breast cancer screening. Young age and income status below PKR 50,000 per month (OR = 3.47, 95%CI: 1.20\u201310.07 rel. to highest income) were significantly associated with poor breast cancer knowledge. In conclusion, this study reports sub-optimal breast cancer awareness levels in the target population, indicating the need for awareness programs and policy-driven interventions to reduce barriers, improve knowledge, and improve adherence to screening recommendations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23081068","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T08:08:41Z","timestamp":1787040521000},"page":"1068","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Breast Cancer Knowledge and Screening Barriers Among Female University Students of Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2552-3927","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sehar","family":"Iqbal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi Campus, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 112612, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3499-902X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdul Momin Rizwan","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"},{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York O10 5DD, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-3481-1256","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zoha Imtiaz","family":"Malik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8883-7152","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad","family":"Irfan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Statistics, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi 74800, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1660-5226","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Taima","family":"Qudah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi Campus, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 112612, United Arab Emirates"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2707-3213","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael","family":"Kundi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"287","article-title":"Global burden of female breast cancer: New estimates in 2022, temporal trend and future projections up to 2050 based on the latest release from GLOBOCAN","volume":"5","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Natl. 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