Socioeconomic variation in uptake of colonoscopy following a positive faecal occult blood test result: a retrospective analysis of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bowel cancer is a serious health burden and its early diagnosis improves survival. The Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) in England screens with the Faecal Occult Blood test (FOBt), followed by colonoscopy for individuals with a positive test result. Socioeconomic inequalities have been demonstrated for FOBt uptake, but it is not known whether they persist at the next stage of the screening pathway. The aim of this study was to assess the association between colonoscopy uptake and area socioeconomic deprivation, controlling for individual age and sex, and area ethnic diversity, population density, poor self-assessed health, and region.

Methods

Logistic regression analysis of colonoscopy uptake using BCSP data for England between 2006 and 2009 for 24 180 adul

SUBMITTER: Morris S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3425978 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature