1. Socio-economic status and the risk of breast cancer among Nigerian women: a case control study.
- Author
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Onyinyechukwu Azubuike, Samuel, Hayes, Louise, Sharp, Linda, Alabi, Adewumi, Oyesegun, Rasaaq, and McNally, Richard
- Subjects
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SOCIOECONOMIC status , *NIGERIANS , *DISEASE risk factors , *BREAST cancer , *HIGH-income countries - Abstract
Introduction: an increased risk of breast cancer associated with high socio-economic status has been reported in high income countries. A few available African studies have reported inconsistent findings using different single socio-economic measures. Our aim was to investigate the association between socio-economic status and the risk of breast cancer among Nigerian women based on a range of socio-economic status measures. Methods: we conducted a hospital-based case-control study involving participants from five hospitals in Lagos and Abuja. Women were interviewed in-person between October 2016 and May 2017 using a semi-structured questionnaire. Socio-economic status was assessed based on education, occupation, income, wealth, and socioeconomic index. Multivariable logistic regression was applied in data analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Level of significance was based on 95% confidence interval or p-values less than 0.05. Results: we recruited 379 histologically confirmed breast cancer cases and 403 controls. Following full adjustments, breast cancer risk reduced as socio-economic index increased (p for trend=0.028). Although women in the highest categories of educational attainment [Odds ratio (OR)=0.21, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09, 0.53], and personal income (OR=0.37, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.72) had a reduced risk of breast cancer compared to women in the lowest categories respectively after adjustments for relevant covariates, income alone exhibited a significant risk reduction following mutual adjustment for other socio-economic status measures (p for trend=0.014). Conclusion: the observed associations between high socio-economic status and lower breast cancer risk in Nigeria contrast with predominant findings in high-income countries. It suggests the need for socio-economic intervention and other preventive programmes such as improved access to screening and diagnostic services targeted at women of low socio-economic status in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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