Missed opportunities: racial and neighborhood socioeconomic disparities in emergency colorectal cancer diagnosis and surgery.

BackgroundDisparities by race and neighborhood socioeconomic status exist for many colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes, including screening use and mortality. We used population-based data to determine if disparities also exist for emergency CRC diagnosis and surgery.MethodsWe examined two emergency CRC outcomes using 1992-2005 population-based U.S. SEER-Medicare data. Among CRC patients aged ≥66 years, we examined racial (African American vs. white) and neighborhood poverty disparities in two emergency outcomes defined as: 1) newly diagnosed CRC or 2) CRC surgery associated with: obstruction, perforation, or emergency inpatient admission. Multilevel logistic regression (patients nested in census tracts) analyses adjusted for sociodemographic, tumor, and clinical covariates.ResultsOf 83,330 CRC patients, 29.1% were diagnosed emergently. Of 55,046 undergoing surgery, 26.0% had emergency surgery. For both outcomes, race and neighborhood poverty disparities were evident. A significant race by poverty interaction (p < .001) was noted: poverty rate was associated with both outcomes among African Americans, but not whites. Compared to whites in low poverty (<10%) neighborhoods, African Americans in high poverty (≥20%) neighborhoods had increased odds of emergency diagnosis (AOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.38-1.63) and surgery (AOR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.47-1.81).ConclusionsEmergency CRC outcomes are associated with high poverty residence among African Americans in this population-based study, potentially contributing to observed disparities in CRC morbidity and mortality. Targeted efforts to increase CRC screening among African Americans living in high poverty neighborhoods could reduce preventable disparities