Socioeconomic Inequalities in Cervical and Breast Cancer Screening among Women in Korea, 2005-2015

• Published in: Yonsei medical journal 2018, 59(9), , pp.1026-1033
• Main Authors: Choi, Eunji, Lee, Yoon Young, Suh, Mina, Lee, Eun Young, Mai, Tran Thi Xuan, Ki, Moran, Oh, Jin Kyoung, Cho, Hyunsoon, Park, Boyoung, Jun, Jae Kwan, Kim, Yeol, Choi, Kui Son
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Breast Neoplasms - diagnosis; Breast Neoplasms - prevention & control; Cross-Sectional Studies; Early Detection of Cancer - statistics & numerical data; Early Detection of Cancer - trends; Female; Health Status Disparities; Healthcare Disparities; Humans; Middle Aged; Original; Registries; Republic of Korea; Social Class; Socioeconomic Factors; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - diagnosis; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - prevention & control; 의학일반
• ISSN: 0513-5796; 1976-2437
• DOI: 10.3349/ymj.2018.59.9.1026

Consistent evidence indicates that cervical and breast cancer screening rates are low among socioeconomically deprived women. This study aimed to assess trends in cervical and breast cancer screening rates and to analyze socioeconomic inequalities among Korean women from 2005 to 2015. Data from the Korean National Cancer Screening Survey, an annual nationwide cross-sectional survey, were utilized. A total of 19910 women were finally included for analysis. Inequalities in education and household income status were estimated by slope index of inequality (SII) and relative index of inequality (RII), along with calculation of annual percent changes (APCs), to show trends in cancer screening rates. Cervical and breast cancer screening rates increased from 54.8% in 2005 to 65.6% in 2015 and from 37.6% in 2005 to 61.2% in 2015, respectively. APCs in breast cancer screening rates were significant among women with higher levels of household income and education status. Inequalities by household income in cervical cancer screening uptake were observed with a pooled SII estimate of 10.6% (95% CI: 8.1 to 13.2) and RII of 1.4 (95% CI: 1.3 to 1.6). Income inequalities in breast cancer screening were shown to gradually increase over time with a pooled SII of 5.9% (95% CI: 2.9 to 9.0) and RII of 1.2 (95% CI: 0.9 to 1.3). Educational inequalities appeared to diminish over the study period for both cervical and breast cancer screening. Our study identified significant inequalities among socioeconomically deprived women in cervical and breast cancer screening in Korea. Especially, income-related inequalities were greater than education-related inequalities, and these were constant from 2005 to 2015 for both cervical and breast cancer screening.