A language barrier could be contributing to the low rate of colorectal cancer screening among Mexican-Americans, according to a new study from San Diego State University.
Fewer than 60% of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. have undergone screening for colorectal cancer with one of two common exams, compared with 78% of non-Latino white Californians.
In the telephone survey of nearly 17,000 California residents 50 years and older, more individuals of Mexican descent said they had problems with language when dealing with healthcare providers, the researchers wrote. Approximately 30% of Californians are of Mexican descent or birth.
The findings in Ethnicity and Disease (Summer 2009, Vol. 19, pp. 315-322) are based on information collected in the 2005 California Health Interview Survey.
About three times as many Mexican-Americans as non-Latino whites said they had never undergone an endoscopy or fecal occult blood test, stating that they didn't know they needed to be screened. In addition, 67% of Mexican-Americans said they needed someone to help them understand the doctor, compared with 20% of non-Latino whites.
While the screening disparity might be language-based, it could also result from cultural issues not unique to Hispanics, said Luisa Borrell, Ph.D., an associate professor of public health at Lehman College, City University of New York, who was not associated with the study.
Related Reading
Colorectal cancer attitudes vary by ethnicity, August 26, 2009
Colorectal cancer survival differs by race and ethnicity, November 30, 2007
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