Differences and trends in gastric, breast, and cervical cancer screening rates between rural and urban areas in 2007-2012 among the Korean population

Abstract

Abstract Purpose This study aimed at examining the ever and recommended screening inequalities of cancers (gastric, breast, and cervical) in rural and urban areas including socio-economic disparities, from 2007 to 2012 amongst Koreans. Methodology This cross-sectional population-based study used data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) of 2007–2012. It included people with no previous cancer diagnosis for gastric, breast, and cervical cancers. Annual Percent Change (APC) was calculated at 95% confidence interval using STATA version 13.0 and MS Excel. Results In the ever cancer screening group, the screening rates and trends had an increased in both urban and rural areas: APC values were 4.6% (95% CI, 1.6 to 7.8) and 5.6% (95% CI, 2.7 to 8.6) for gastric cancers, 3.6% (95% CI, 1.5 to 5.6) and 3.6% (95% CI, -0.3 to 7.7) for breast cancers, and 0.3% (95% CI, -0.4 to 1.2) and 0.7% (95% CI, -1.0 to 1.4) for cervical cancers in urban and rural areas, respectively. Conclusion Cancer screening rates for gastric and breast cancers showed significant increase from 2007–2012 in both areas. More effort should be implemented and focused on the improvement of cervical cancer screening rates which showed significant lower cancer screening rates compared to the other cancers in both areas.