Racial minorities are more likely than whites to report lack of provider recommendation for colon cancer screening.

OBJECTIVES: Although screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) is recommended for all adults aged 50 to 75 years in the United States, there are racial and ethnic disparities in who receives screening. Individuals lacking appropriate CRC screening cite various reasons for nonadherence, including lack of provider recommendation for screening. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between patient race and lack of provider recommendation for CRC screening as the primary reason for screening nonadherence.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study of individuals aged 50 to 75 years from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey who reported nonadherence to 2008 United States Preventive Service Task Force CRC screening guidelines. The outcome was self-report that the main reason for not undergoing CRC screening was lack of a physician recommendation ("non-recommendation") for screening. We performed logistic regression to determine significant predictors of non-recommendation, with particular attention to the role of race.

RESULTS: The study cohort included 5,793 unscreened subjects. Of the subjects, 19.1% reported that lack of a provider recommendation was the main reason for CRC nonscreening. African Americans (adjusted odds ratio (adj. OR) 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-2.05) and English-speaking Asians (adj. OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.24-2.20) were more likely than whites to report physician non-recommendation as the main reason for lack of screening. Asian non-English speakers, however, were less likely to report physician non-recommendation (adj. OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.91).

CONCLUSION: Racial minorities are less likely than whites to receive a physician recommendation for CRC screening. Future research should evaluate why race appears to influence provider recommendations to pursue CRC screening; this is an important step to reduce disparities in CRC screening and lessen the burden of CRC in the United States.