To investigate the test situation of pulmonary nodules among health examination population in a certain area and analyze its relationship with lifestyle and dietary habits.

A study was conducted on 10 580 individuals who underwent health examinations at the health management center of The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from June 2022 to June 2023, regardless of occupation. All health examines underwent low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) lung examination to screen for pulmonary nodule patients, the detection rate and imaging characteristics of pulmonary nodules were analyzed, and a questionnaire survey on their lifestyle and dietary habits was conducted, the relationship between the detection rate of pulmonary nodules and lifestyle and dietary habits were analyzed.

A total of 2 054 positive cases of pulmonary nodules were detected among 10 580 healthy individuals, with a detection rate of 19.41%. Among them, 320 cases were of type 1 nodules (3.02%), 1 425 cases were of type 2 nodules (13.47%), 218 cases were of type 3 nodules (2.06%), and 91 cases were of type 4 nodules (0.86%). There was a statistically significant difference in the classification of Lung RANDS for positive pulmonary nodules of different densities and sizes (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the detection rate of pulmonary nodules among healthy individuals of different ages, genders, occupational environments, smoking habits, participation in physical exercise, and dietary habits (whether you have the habit of eating breakfast, whether you eat a high-oil diet, whether you eat fried products and the combination of meat and vegetables). Multivariate logistic regression results showed that males (OR=2.143, 95%CI: 1.151-3.9880), smokers (OR=2.234, 95%CI: 1.435-3.480), aged over 40 years old (OR=1.451, 95%CI: 1.031-2.040), not participating in physical exercise (OR=1.582, 95%CI: 1.157-2.165), and no habit of eating breakfast (OR=1.404, 95%CI:1.036-1.902), high oil diet (OR=1.409, 95%CI: 1.073-1.850) and eat fried products (OR=1.795, 95%CI: 1.269-2.539) were independent risk factors for pulmonary nodules in healthy individuals in this region (P<0.05).

The detection rate of pulmonary nodules in the health examination population in Luzhou region is relatively high, and related lifestyle and dietary habits may affect the occurrence of pulmonary nodules. It is recommended to actively carry out LDCT for people over 40 years old in this area, focusing on high-risk groups who smoke, do not participate in physical exercise, have habits of not eating breakfast, high oil diet and eating fried products. Early detection and management of high-risk pulmonary nodules can reduce the risk of lung cancer.