Colorectal cancer prevalence and risk factors among the uninsured of Tampa Bay: A free clinic study.

Abstract

61 Background: Uninsured patients with low socioeconomic status are at higher risk for developing colorectal cancer. There is limited quantifiable data regarding risk factors and prevalence of colorectal cancer in this vulnerable population. The purpose of this study is to assess the risk factors for colorectal cancer in the low income and uninsured patient population across nine free clinics around Tampa Bay, Florida. Methods: An IRB-approved manually extracted retrospective query of several medical record systems from nine free clinics in the Tampa Bay area in 2017 revealed 1,836 (36.1%) of 5,076 total patients who are over 50 years old. Patient demographics, weight, smoking status, alcohol use, type 2 diabetes status, inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer prevalence were also extracted and analyzed. Results: Among patients over 50, the majority of patients were female (n = 1073, 58.4%) and of Hispanic ethnicity (n = 752, 41.0%). Of the 1,349 patients who reported their smoking status, 213 (15.8%) were active smokers and 218 (16.2%) were past smokers, with a mean 16.3 (SD = 15.5) pack year history. Of the 1,124 patients who reported their history of alcohol consumption, 217 (19.3%) were current consumers and 40 (3.6%) were past consumers. The average BMI of patients over 50 years was 30.2 (SD = 6.9), with 558 (30.4%) cases of diabetes. Eleven patients (0.6%) had a history of inflammatory bowel disease. The prevalence of documented colorectal cancer in this sample was 0.6% (n = 11) in our sample population. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of risk factors for colorectal cancer in this sample of uninsured patients but a lower reported prevalence of colorectal cancer compared to the general population. Additionally, many known risk factors for colorectal cancer, such as diet, physical activity, or family history, are not routinely documented by free clinics. As these clinics provide opportune points of primary care, this baseline data should prompt more attention to colorectal screening and risk factor modification in this vulnerable population.