PHILADELPHIA—Obesity may be linked to higher rates of prostate cancer screening across all races/ethnic differences and lower rates of cervical cancer screening, especially in Caucasian women, according to a new study published in the Journal of Obesity. The findings suggest cultural differences among men, women, blacks and Caucasian, and socioeconomic factors may limit or grant access to certain cancer screenings.
Researchers in Family and Community Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University investigated the role of obesity in cancer screening rates for prostate, cervical, breast and colorectal cancers across race/ethnicity and gender. They found in cervical cancer screening, increasing weight was consistently associated with lower rates of Pap smear use. Studies showed this to be most notable in Caucasian women, with black women, particularly black women of high socioeconomic status showing an absent or less strong association.
Prostate cancer screening levels were consistently shown to increase with weight. In three of four studies obese men were more likely to receive a PSA test for prostate cancer screening than their normal weight peers. The finding was consistent across race/ethnicity differences.
“This could be explained by differences in access and utilization of health care; as weight increases so do other comorbid conditions, making heavier men higher users of health care and perhaps more encouraged to be tested by their health care provider," the researchers said.
A review of breast cancer screening research showed no correlation between weight and mammography use in women. In the three studies examined that stratified the obesity-screening relationship according to race, one study showed obesity corresponded with a decreased use of mammography in white women and increased use in their black counterparts. Two of the three studies found a positive association between obesity and mammography use in black women, while one study showed no effect.
Higher weight women, according to the team’s analysis, were less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer (CRC), though the data made no reference to disparities in screening levels between races; research showed inconsistencies in the association between obesity and CRC screening in men. The studies available on CRC screening looked at a variety of testing options, making direct comparison difficult. On the whole, research showed that endoscopy, not fecal occult blood test (FOBT), was more likely influenced by weight status, specifically in women. Researchers concluded this could be related to the fact that endoscopy is more invasive and therefore more difficult on obese patients relative to other screening tests.
