摘要：Objectives. We examined associations of geographic measures of poverty, race, ethnicity, and city status with rates of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or higher and adenocarcinoma in situ (CIN2+/AIS), known precursors to cervical cancer. Methods. We identified 3937 cases of CIN2+/AIS among women aged 20 to 39 years in statewide surveillance data from Connecticut for 2008 to 2009. We geocoded cases to census tracts and used census data to calculate overall and age-specific rates. Poisson regression determined whether rates differed by geographic measures. Results. The average annual rate of CIN2+/AIS was 417.6 per 100 000 women. Overall, higher rates of CIN2+/AIS were associated with higher levels of poverty and higher proportions of Black residents. Poverty was the strongest and most consistently associated measure. However, among women aged 20 to 24 years, we observed inverse associations between poverty and CIN2+/AIS rates. Conclusions. Disparities in cervical cancer precursors exist for poverty and race, but these effects are age dependent. This information is necessary to monitor human papillomavirus vaccine impact and target vaccination strategies. Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, with an estimated 6.2 million adolescents and young adults newly infected every year. 1 The prevalence of infection ranges from 27% to 45% among young women, and nearly 40% of women acquire HPV within 2 years of initiating sexual activity. 2–4 HPV is also an important public health problem because persistent infection with a high-risk HPV type is a necessary cause of cervical cancer. 5–7 Women living in poverty and racial/ethnic minorities continue to bear a disproportionate burden of cervical cancer incidence and mortality despite the decrease in rates that has resulted from widespread cervical cancer screening. 8,9 In 1998 to 2003, US incidence rates of invasive cervical cancer were 12.6 per 100 000 among Black women, 14.2 among Hispanics, and 8.4 among Whites; mortality rates showed similar disparities. 10 This pattern continued through 2007. 11 In a study from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, incidence rates in areas with 20% or higher and less than 5% of the population living in poverty were 17.6 and 9.2 per 100 000, respectively. 12 Data from a study in New York City revealed neighborhood poverty to be an important predictor of cervical cancer mortality. 13 Precursors to cervical cancer are cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 2, 2/3, and 3 (CIN2+) and adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS). CIN2+/AIS diagnoses are an important public health problem not only because they are precursors to invasive disease, but also because they are common diagnoses that impose substantial health care costs and patient burden. Approximately 500 000 women are diagnosed each year with high-grade cervical disease, and these diagnoses account for annual health care costs of $450 million. 14–16 At the individual level, a diagnosis of CIN2+ results in an average of 7 to 8 office visits and 20 months of follow-up. 16 Many women also experience adverse psychological consequences following a diagnosis, such as fear of cancer, anxiety, distress, and concern about future fertility, along with medical procedures and difficulties with sexual relationships. 17 Disparities in precancerous lesions have not been directly examined, to the best of our knowledge. Data from 2 studies reveal noticeably higher rates of precancerous lesions among low-income women in a national screening program (4.6–7.4/1000 women) than among health plan enrollees (1.5/1000), who were likely of higher socioeconomic status 18,19 ; however this is not a direct or precise comparison. Since 2006, the Food and Drug Administration has approved 2 HPV vaccines that protect against 2 high-risk HPV types (HPV 16/18), which cause approximately 70% of cervical cancers. These vaccines have proven efficacy of 95% or higher in protecting against HPV 16/18–associated cervical lesions in HPV-naive women. 20,21 The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends routine use of either vaccine in a 3-dose regimen for girls aged 11 or 12 years and catch-up vaccination through age 26 years. 22 These vaccines have the potential to reduce disparities in cervical cancer. However, the extent to which this is realized will depend on high vaccine coverage for populations at greatest risk for outcomes associated with HPV infection. If vaccine coverage is not adequate and targeted, current disparities in cervical cancer may widen rather than narrow. HPV vaccination programs may affect cervical cancer precursors and associated procedures within years rather than the decades it will take to measure impact on cervical cancer. 21,23–26 Therefore, determining the burden of cervical cancer precursors should be a public health priority because this information can be used to target vaccination strategies and provide a baseline for monitoring vaccine impact and disparities over time. We examined disparities in CIN2+/AIS rates in Connecticut, a state with mandatory reporting of these conditions, during prevaccine impact years 2008 to 2009, by geographic sociodemographic measures of poverty, race, ethnicity, and city status. We chose the first 3 measures because they are the most commonly used indicators of disparities in cervical cancer. 8,10,12,13 We included a city measure because we hypothesized that disparities may exist along an urban gradient. Our results fill a key knowledge gap because few states mandate CIN2+/AIS reporting, and no statewide analysis of cervical cancer precursors and geographic measures has been reported.
