UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

It has been shown that African Americans have the highest incidence of colorectal cancer (CC) than any other racial/ethnic group, and are less likely to engage in colorectal cancer screening (CCS) than Whites. Demographic variables, dietary habits, and sedentary lifestyle have been shown to be associated with the CC incidence. Health insurance coverage, having a regular source of care, income, and education have been shown to be associated with CCS practices. Objective: to examine the association between demographic (gender, education, and income) and lifestyle factors (sedentary lifestyle, fruit/vegetables consumption, and fried food consumption) and CCS among African Americans 50 years of age and older in church settings. Methods: A survey was administered to congregation members of four churches (N=607); 222 participants were 50 years of age and older (51 males and 123 females), but only participants having health insurance coverage and regular source of care were included in the analyses (N=202). Bivariate associations between CCS and demographic and lifestyle variables were examined. Variables found to be significant were included in final multivariable logistic regression models. Results: 27.5% of participants reported never having had a FOBT and 45.4% reported never having had colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy. Income and education were the only variables significantly associated with CCS with both higher income and higher education being associated with increased likelihood of screening. After multivariable adjustment only income remained significantly associated with screening. Results show that among African Americans with health insurance and regular source of care, income is still an important variable to be considered.