Perceived discrimination and cancer screening behaviors in US Hispanics: the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study

Perceived discrimination has been associated with lower adherence to cancer screening guidelines. We examined whether perceived discrimination was associated with adherence to breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer screening guidelines in US Hispanic/Latino adults

Abstract A88: Perceived discrimination and cancer screening behaviors in U.S. Hispanics: Preliminary results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study

Abstract Background: Perceived discrimination among the US population has been associated with lower utilization of cancer screening tests. Data from the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Socio-cultural Ancillary Study were analyzed to determine if perceived discrimination was associated with adherence to breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening tests. Methods: Respondents included 5,313 participants from Bronx NY, Chicago IL, Miami FL, and San Diego CA recruited using a 2-stage area household probability design. Of these, 3,083 women aged 18-74 and 840 men aged 50-74 were included in the analysis. Cancer screening behaviors, income, health insurance status, and having a usual source of healthcare were assessed via self-report. Perceived discrimination was measured using the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire (PEDQ). Acculturation was measured using the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics. Adherence to cervical and breast cancer screening tests was defined as receipt of a Pap smear within the last 2 years (in women 18-74) and receipt of a mammogram within the last 2 years (in women 40-74), respectively. In all participants 50-74, adherence to fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) was defined as having FOBT within the 1 year; adherence to colonscopy/sigmoidoscopy was defined as having had either test in the last 5 years. Chi-square tests were used to test for differences between groups. Multivariate polytomous logistic regression models were fit to assess the association between perceived discrimination and cancer screening adherence. Models were adjusted for income, health insurance status, having a usual source of care, location, and acculturation. Results: Among women, 72.1% were adherent to cervical cancer screening and 54.2% were adherent to breast cancer screening. In participants aged 50-74, 23.5% of women and 27.2% of men were adherent to FOBT; 36.9% of women and 30.0% of men were adherent to colonscopy/sigmoidoscopy. After adjustment for covariates, men in the highest quartiles of perceived discrimination were more likely be non-adherent to FOBT compared to men in the lowest quartile of perceived discrimination (Q3 vs. Q1, OR: 2.3 [1.1-4.7]; Q4 vs. Q1, OR: 4.4 [2.0-9.7]). We observed no association between perceived discrimination, and breast or cervical cancer screening, or colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy. Not having health insurance was a significant independent predictor of non-adherence to breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening (breast cancer, OR: 2.5 [1.7-3.5]; cervical cancer, OR: 1.7 [1.2-2.4]; FOBT in women, OR: 2.6 [1.3-4.9]; colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy in women, OR: 5.5[2.7-11.3]; in men, OR: 3.4 [1.5-7.4]). Greater degree of acculturation to the dominant US culture was associated with non-adherence to cervical and colorectal cancer screening in women (cervcal cancer, OR: 1.4 [1.1-1.8]; FOBT, OR: 2.0 [1.3-3.2]; colonscopy/sigmoidoscopy, OR: 1.7 [1.1-2.8]). Conclusions: For breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening behaviors, not having health insurance and being more acculturated to US culture were significant predictors of lower rates of cancer screening; perceived discrimination was not significantly related. The finding that higher levels of discrimination are associated to non-adherence to FOBT among men warrants further research. Citation Format: Cristina Valdovinos, Carmen Isasi, Molly Jung, Heather Greenlee, Robert Kaplan, Frank J. Penedo, Rebeca A. Espinoza, Patricia Gonzalez, Vanessa L. Malcarne, Krista Perreira, Hugo Salgado, Melissa A. Simon, Lisa M. Wruck. Perceived discrimination and cancer screening behaviors in U.S. Hispanics: Preliminary results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A88.</jats:p