title: Racial/ethnic differences in screening for colon cancer: report from the New York Cancer Project.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, NY 10029, USA. dvlahov@nyam.org
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vlahov
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahern
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Philips
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.forename: Maria K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Freeman
mesh_terms: 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