Racial/ethnic differences in screening for colon cancer: report from the New York Cancer Project.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether racial/ethnic differences in colon cancer screening are independent of socioeconomic and personal risk factors.


METHODS
Baseline cross-section for a prospective cohort.


METHODS
We recruited adults between 2000 and 2002 to undergo a questionnaire and venipuncture to study cancer risks.


RESULTS
Among 5595 adults over 50 years old, 40.3% reported sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the prior five years; rates were 48.0% for Whites, 32.8% for Blacks, 27.9% for Hispanics, 30.3% for Asians, and 33.3% for others. Adjusting for age, gender, access to care (as income and insurance), and risk profile (as cancer in family, smoking, and obesity), Blacks and Hispanics were less likely to have been screened than Whites.


CONCLUSIONS
Screening for colon cancer is low, especially among racial/ethnic minorities. Sociocultural factors merit closer attention.
Vlahov
David
D
Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, NY 10029, USA. dvlahov@nyam.org
Ahern
Jennifer
J
Vazquez
Tara
T
Johnson
Stephen
S
Philips
Laura A
LA
Nash
Denis
D
Mitchell
Maria K
MK
Freeman
Harold
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires