Inequality in Bladder Cancer Screening Uptake: A Cross-sectional Study in Urban Population

Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary system. An important source of health disparities is related to early cancer detection strategies. The present study aimed to determine the inequality in bladder cancer screening uptake.

The current cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,760 subjects from the urban population over 30 in Kermanshah. The adjusted odds ratio was used to show the relationship between bladder cancer screening uptake and different subgroups. The concentration index and concentration curve were used to quantify and analyze inequality in bladder cancer screening uptake.

The history of bladder cancer screening uptake was 1.02% (1.18% in men and 0.88% in women). The mean age of bladder cancer screening uptake was 56.18 years (standard deviation 12.60 years). The highest percentage of bladder cancer diagnostic test uptake pertained to participants who had a positive family history of bladder cancer (23.33%). The concentration index for bladder cancer screening uptake was estimated at 0.238 (P<0.073). The adjusted odds ratio demonstrated that the wealthy group had 10.25 times as many bladder cancer screening uptake as the poor participants.

The odds ratio of bladder cancer screening uptake in the rich group was more than 10 times that of the participants in the poor group. Health resources should be directed to help reduce disparities and provide services to those most in need.