Age- and Sex-Specific Cancer Prevention and Screening Practices among Asian Indian Immigrants in the United States

Objective: The objective was to examine age- and sex-specific cancer prevention and screening practices among 1820 Asian Indian (AI) adults in the United States using items from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey Cancer Control Topical Module. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1820 randomly selected AIs living in 7 US cities. Data were collected via telephone interviews by trained multilingual AI staff; the response rate was 62%. The primary outcome variables were age- and sex-specific cancer screening behaviors. Results: Most of the AIs are men, married, educated, and with some form of health insurance. One fifth reported a family history of cancer. Adherence to mammography, Papanicolaou test, and clinical breast examination was higher in contrast to low rates of breast self-examination in women. Similarly, men reported low clinical testicular examination and fecal occult blood test, although prostate-specific antigen screening was higher than the reported rates among Asian Americans. Men were more likely to get a colonoscopy than women. The length of time in the United States had a relatively weak effect, and a family history of cancer had a moderate effect on screening behavior. Education and access to health care increased the odds (2Y6 times) of cancer screening in AI men and women. Conclusions: Cancer screening varies by educational level, years lived in the United States, and access to health care, among AIs living in the United States. Differences in sociodemographic factors should be considered to predict adherence to cancer screening guidelines and also be factored into patient education in this ethnic subgroup.