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Associations between sociodemographic factors and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening in the United States

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Abstract

Purpose

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and in the U.S., but screening can reduce cancer-related deaths. We analyzed data from a nationwide survey to compare how sociodemographic factors were associated with never or not timely screening for multiple types of cancer, and the use of different colorectal cancer screening procedures.

Methods

We analyzed data from the 2019 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. To understand breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening participation among those recommended to screen, we respectively analyzed 8,110 women 45 to 74 years of age, 9,583 women 21 to 65 years of age, and 13,497 individuals 50 to 75 years of age at survey. Weighted Poisson regression was used to estimate the unadjusted and confounding-adjusted prevalence ratio and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

In our analysis populations, 6.9% never had a mammogram, 14.6% never screened for cervical cancer, and 26.8% never screened for colorectal cancer; the prevalence respectively increased to 24.7%, 23.8%, and 32.3% for not timely screening according to national guidelines. The prevalence of never screening was 81.9% for non-invasive colorectal cancer tests, compared with 32.5% for colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Individuals with lower education level, with no health insurance, or in poverty had higher prevalence of never screening for all three cancers. There was low sociodemographic disparity for the use of non-invasive colorectal cancer screening tests.

Conclusion

Socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals have higher prevalence of never or not timely screening. The utilization of non-invasive colorectal cancer screening procedures remains low across sociodemographic groups.

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Data Availability

Data for this study is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019nhis.htm.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

The authors received no financial support for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Health Program, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Lía I. Mondragón Márquez, Daniela L. Domínguez Bueso, Liza M. González Ruiz & Jason J. Liu

  2. Institute of Public Health, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, No.155, Sec. 2, Linong St., Beitou District, Taipei City, 112, Taiwan

    Jason J. Liu

Authors
  1. Lía I. Mondragón Márquez
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  2. Daniela L. Domínguez Bueso
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  3. Liza M. González Ruiz
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Liu; Formal analysis: All authors; Supervision: Liu; Writing – original draft: Liu, Mondragon-Marquez; Writing – review and editing: All authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason J. Liu.

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This study analyzed data from a publicly available dataset, and therefore was exempt from Institutional Review Board approval.

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Mondragón Márquez, L.I., Domínguez Bueso, D.L., González Ruiz, L.M. et al. Associations between sociodemographic factors and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening in the United States. Cancer Causes Control 34, 1073–1084 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01758-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01758-z

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