Role of Socioeconomic Status in Predicting Sonographically Detected Breast Cancer Compared With Family History, Age, or Ethnicity

To determine if socioeconomic status is another risk factor in the development and treatment of breast cancer, the records of 250 women, equally divided between those with and without breast cancer, were studied at an outpatient clinic. The frequency of sonographically detected breast cancer increased systematically with respect to age, from 0% at age <30 years to 70.5% at age ≥50 years. The frequency of detection was higher among white (non-Hispanic) women, 69.4%, compared with nonwhite (Hispanic, Black, Asian) women, 42.3%. Breast cancer detection was higher (55.3%) among the lowest income group (<$40,345) than among higher income groups (45.6%) and higher among patients with Medicare (89.2%) and Medicaid (50%) compared with private, other, or no medical insurance (38.1%–44.4%). Detection was higher among women with a family history of breast cancer (55.0%) compared with no family history (46.7%) and higher among nulliparous women (100%) than nonnulliparous women (29.1%). These data suggest that aspects of socioeconomic status may be as predictive of sonographically detected breast cancer as age, ethnicity, and nulliparity.
Source: Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research