A systematic review of ethnic disparities in the uptake of colorectal cancer screening
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Sekhon Inderjit Singh, HK
Lal, N
Majeed, A
Pawa, N
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
AIMS: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening reduces mortality, but variation exists in uptake. Ethnicity is suggested to play a role; however, there is no high-level evidence to support this. We aim to clarify the impact of Ethnicity on CRC screening uptake and our barriers to its understanding. METHODS: A systematic review to identify studies reporting on the participation of ethnic minorities in CRC screening worldwide was performed. MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus and Google Scholar databases up until 31 May 2019 were searched. Compliance with screening according to ethnic groups and screening modality was evaluated compared to the 'White' control group. RESULTS: Twenty-two studies were included in the review reporting on 2,084,213 patients. Substantial variation in categorisation of ethnicities (40 sub-categories), screening modality studied and confounding factors accounted for was observed. 8/15 studies for 'Blacks', 10/13 for 'Hispanics', 2/2 for 'Asians' and 1/1 for 'South East Asians' suggest a less likely or significantly decreased compliance with screening for all screening modalities (p < .05) compared to 'Whites'. Interestingly 'Japanese', 'Vietnamese' and 'Filipino' groups consistently show no difference in the uptake of CRC screening compared to the 'White' majority. CONCLUSION: This is the only systematic review on this topic. It highlights the inconsistency in screening uptake behaviour in different ethnic minority groups and identifies barriers like variation in ethnicity categorisation, screening modality and study design utilised to understanding the intricacies of this relationship. Further collaboration and action needs to be undertaken internationally to clarify and improve inequity in the uptake of screening.
Date Issued
2023-03-01
Date Acceptance
2022-05-01
Citation
Perspectives in Public Health, 2023, 143 (2), pp.105-120
ISSN
1466-4240
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page
105
End Page
120
Journal / Book Title
Perspectives in Public Health
Volume
143
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2022 Owner. Author(s), A systematic review of ethnic disparities in the uptake of colorectal cancer screening, Perspectives in Public Health. Copyright © 2022 (Sage). DOI: 10.1177/1757913922109315
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35506652
Subjects
cancer
ethnic health
ethnic minorities
health improvement
inequalities
screening
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2022-05-04