Low socioeconomic status linked to severe colorectal cancer

WASHINGTON - People living in economically deprived neighbourhoods were more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage, non-localized colorectal cancer, according to a new study at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

“Community clinical practitioners should be encouraged to understand the neighbourhood characteristics of their patients and use that information to guide their encounters with patients, to help reduce disparities for colorectal cancer, which is a preventable disease,” said Chyke Doubeni.

Data were obtained from 1995 to 2003, and none of the participants had a history of colorectal cancer. After adjusting for age and sex, the researchers reported a colorectal cancer incidence of 17.5 per 10,000 person-years.

Those participants who resided in the least socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods had an incidence rate of 16.2 percent compared with 19.8 percent for those living in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Findings revealed that those in the most deprived neighbourhoods had a 13 percent higher overall incidence of colorectal cancer and 15 percent higher incidence of non-localized colorectal cancer compared with those in the least deprived neighbourhoods.

“We need to understand more about the health care utilization patterns of patients in poorer neighbourhoods and obstacles to colorectal cancer screening in those neighbourhoods,” said Doubeni. (ANI)