Influence of number of children on cancer screening among adults in the United States.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of children in the household on the likelihood of reporting cancer screening among adult men and women living in the United States.


METHODS
2004-2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS) were used to calculate the probability of self-reported cancer screening by number of children for adult men and women with adjustment for age, sex, marital status, race, education, current smoking status, obesity status, health insurance and having a usual health-care provider.


RESULTS
The largest percentage of persons who had cancer screening was among respondents with no children in the household. In multivariate results, the probability of endoscopy was lower for persons with one child (24%) and two or more children (21%) in comparison with persons with no children living in the household (30%). Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing was lower among men with one child (17%) and two or more children (14%) in comparison with no children (22%). Pap smears were lower for women with two or more children (50%) but not different for women with one child (55%) in comparison with no children (56%). Mammograms were lower for women with one child (48%) and two or more children (42%) in comparison with no children in the household (55%).


CONCLUSIONS
Across several different cancer screening modalities, the probability of screening is lower as the number of children in the household increases. Children may be an additional barrier to screening beyond factors such as socioeconomic status and access to care.
Stimpson
Jim P
JP
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699, USA. jstimpso@hsc.unt.edu
Wilson
Fernando A
FA
Reyes-Ortiz
Carlos A
CA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001723:Birth Rate; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D014481:United States; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen