title: Association of sociodemographic factors and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are conflicting recommendations regarding the use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) as a screening test. Integral to this debate is an understanding of who is currently being tested. The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed account of PSA testing practices in a major Canadian city (Calgary, Alberta) and to identify variables that may affect access to the PSA test.
  
  
  METHODS
  PSA test counts were retrieved from Calgary Laboratory Services' Laboratory Information System from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. A total of 75,914 individual PSA tests were included in our analysis. The frequency of PSA testing was plotted onto a dissemination area map of Calgary using ArcGIS software. Associations with sociodemographic variables were tested using Poisson regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median PSA value was 0.93 μg/L and the median age at collection was 58 years. Forty-three percent of men aged 60-69 received a PSA test. Visible minority status 'Black' (P=0.0002) and Métis status (P=0.0075) were associated with lower PSA testing frequencies, while median household income (P=<0.0001) and university education (P=<0.0001) were associated with higher PSA testing frequencies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are areas in Calgary which are significantly over or under tested relative to the mean. The amount of PSA testing in men <50 years of age is increasing, which is contrary to PSA testing guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Calgary Laboratory Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: Bill.Gorday@cls.ab.ca.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gorday
authors.affiliation: Calgary Laboratory Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: Hossein.Sadrzadeh@cls.ab.ca.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sadrzadeh
authors.affiliation: Calgary Laboratory Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: Lawrence.DeKoning@cls.ab.ca.
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Koning
authors.affiliation: Calgary Laboratory Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Family Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: Christopher.Naugler@cls.ab.ca.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Naugler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen
keywords: Hot spot analysis maps; PSA; Prostate-specific antigen testing; Sociodemographic variables