Social economic characteristics and cervical abnormalities in Connecticut

There is little evidence concerning incidence of cervical cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia due to socioeconomic characteristics in Connecticut. This ecological report aims to address this issue by comparing the incidence of these cervical abnormalities in Connecticut counties against such socioeconomic characteristics as poverty, race, median income, unemployment, and education. Age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated for cervical precursors and cervical cancer using data from the Connecticut Emerging Infections Program (EIP): HPV-IMPACT project (2008) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program (1997-2006). Linear regression analysis was performed to determine the correlation and statistical significance of each characteristic with either cervical abnormality. New London County had the highest age-adjusted incidence rates of cervical cancer (9.03 cases per 100,000 females) and cervical precursors (249 cases per 100,000 females) out of the entire state of Connecticut. The linear regression analysis found that while socioeconomic characteristics like poverty and race had the higher correlation among the cervical abnormalities, the highest correlation values were for cervical cancer incidence. The correlations among cervical cancer incidence and poverty (R2= 0.12, p = 0.39) as well as race (R2= 0.26, p = 0.16) were weak and not statistically significant. The finding that race and poverty are just indicators for association of cervical abnormalities is most likely a consequence of using county level data as opposed to individual level data. In conclusion, future studies should utilize smaller area or individual level data to assess the affect of poverty and race against the incidence of cervical abnormalities in Connecticut.