The association between sociodemographic factors and time to diagnosis for colorectal cancer in northern Sweden.
Eur J Cancer Care (Engl)
; 31(6): e13687, 2022 Nov.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35970596
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
This study examined whether sociodemographic factors, including distance to hospital, were associated with differences in the diagnostic interval and the treatment interval for colorectal cancer in northern Sweden.METHODS:
Data were retrieved from the Swedish cancer register on patients (n = 446) diagnosed in three northern regions during 2017-2018, then linked to data from Statistics Sweden and medical records. Also, Google maps was used to map the distance between patients' place of residence and nearest hospital. The different time intervals were analysed using Mann-Whitney U-test and Cox regression.RESULTS:
Differences in time to diagnosis were found between groups for income and distance to hospital, favouring those with higher income and shorter distance. The unadjusted regression analysis showed higher income to be associated with more rapid diagnosis (HR 1.004, CI 1.001-1.007). This association remained in the fully adjusted model for income (HR 1.004, CI 1.000-1.008), but not for distance. No differences between sociodemographic groups were found in the treatment interval.CONCLUSION:
Higher income and shorter distance to hospital were in the unadjusted models associated with shorter time to diagnosis for patients with CRC in northern Sweden. The association remained for income when adjusting for other variables even though the difference was small.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Colorectal Neoplasms
/
Sociodemographic Factors
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Eur J Cancer Care (Engl)
Journal subject:
ENFERMAGEM
/
NEOPLASIAS
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Sweden