Katherine W. Reeves

Recruitment of minority and underserved populations in the United States: The centers for population health and health disparities experience

OBJECTIVE The recruitment of minority and underserved individuals to research studies is often problematic. The purpose of this study was to describe the recruitment experiences of projects that actively recruited minority and underserved populations as part of The Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD) initiative. METHODS Principal investigators and research staff from 17 research projects at eight institutions across the United States were surveyed about their recruitment experiences. Investigators reported the study purpose and design, recruitment methods employed, recruitment progress, problems or challenges to recruitment, strategies used to address these problems, and difficulties resulting from Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requirements. Additionally, information was collected about participant burden and compensation. Burden was classified on a three-level scale. Recruitment results were reported as of March 31, 2007. RESULTS Recruitment attainment ranged from 52% to 184% of the participant recruitment goals. Commonly reported recruitment problems included administrative issues, and difficulties with establishing community partnerships and contacting potential participants. Long study questionnaires, extended follow-up, and narrow eligibility criteria were also problematic. The majority of projects reported difficulties with IRB approvals, though few reported issues related to HIPAA requirements. Attempted solutions to recruitment problems varied across Centers and included using multiple recruitment sites and sources and culturally appropriate invitations to participate. Participant burden and compensation varied widely across the projects, however, accrual appeared to be inversely associated with the amount of participant burden for each project. CONCLUSION Recruitment of minority and underserved populations to clinical trials is necessary to increase study generalizbility and reduce health disparities. Our results demonstrate the importance of flexible study designs which allow adaptation to recruitment challenges. These experiences also highlight the importance of involving community members and reducing participant burden to achieve success in recruiting individuals from minority and underserved populations.

Racial differences in colorectal cancer screening practices and knowledge within a low-income population†

Although colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death among US women and is particularly deadly among African Americans, CRC screening rates remain low. Within a low‐income population of women, the authors examined racial differences in practices, knowledge, and barriers related to CRC screening.

Obesity in relation to endometrial cancer risk and disease characteristics in the Women's Health Initiative.

OBJECTIVE Obesity increases endometrial cancer risk, yet its impact on disease stage and grade is unclear. We prospectively examined the effects of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on incidence, stage, and grade of endometrial cancer. METHODS We studied 86937 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Womens Health Initiative. Height, weight, and waist and hip circumference were measured at baseline. Endometrial cancer cases were adjudicated by trained physicians and pathology reports were used to determine stage and grade. Cox proportional hazards models generated hazard ratios (HR) for associations between BMI and WHR and risk of endometrial cancer. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between BMI and WHR and disease stage and grade. RESULTS During a mean 7.8 (standard deviation 1.6) years of follow-up, 806 women were diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Although incidence was higher among Whites, stage and grade were similar between Whites and Blacks. Elevated BMI (HR 1.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41-2.19) and WHR (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.04-1.70) increased endometrial cancer risk when comparing women in the highest and lowest categories. No associations were observed between BMI or WHR and disease stage or grade. CONCLUSIONS Obesity increases endometrial cancer risk independent of other factors but is not associated with stage or grade of disease. These findings support and validate previous reports. Future research should evaluate the impact of obesity on racial disparities in endometrial cancer survival.

Recreational Physical Activity and Mammographic Breast Density Characteristics

Increased mammographic breast density is considered an intermediate marker of breast cancer risk. Physical activity is believed to reduce breast cancer risk; however, its effect on breast density is not well understood. We studied the association between recreational physical activity and mammographic characteristics of the breast among a population of premenopausal and postmenopausal women enrolled as controls (n = 728) in a case-control study of mammographic breast density and breast cancer. Women were enrolled shortly after obtaining their regular screening mammograms, and participants reported their current and lifetime recreational physical activity history using a self-administered, reliable questionnaire at study enrollment. Linear regression was used to determine associations between physical activity variables and the dense breast area, non-dense area, total breast area, and percent density. Age-adjusted analyses revealed significant inverse associations between physical activity variables and the non-dense area and total area and positive associations with percent breast density. These associations were attenuated and nonsignificant after adjustment for body mass index (BMI). Adjustment for additional factors did not substantially change the results. Physical activity was not associated with the dense breast area before or after adjustment for BMI. Self-reported recreational physical activity was not significantly associated with the mammographic characteristics of the breast after adjustment for BMI in this population. These results suggest that the mechanism by which physical activity reduces breast cancer risk may not involve breast density. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(5):934–42)

Longitudinal association of anthropometry with mammographic breast density in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation†

High percent mammographic breast density is strongly associated with increased breast cancer risk. Though body mass index (BMI) is positively associated with risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, BMI is negatively associated with percent breast density in cross‐sectional studies. Few longitudinal studies have evaluated associations between BMI and weight and mammographic breast density. We studied the longitudinal relationships between anthropometry and breast density in a prospective cohort of 834 pre‐ and perimenopausal women enrolled in an ancillary study to the Study of Womens Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Routine screening mammograms were collected and read for breast density. Random intercept regression models were used to evaluate whether annual BMI change was associated with changes over time in dense breast area and percent density. The study population was 7.4% African‐American, 48.8% Caucasian, 21.8% Chinese, and 21.9% Japanese. Mean follow‐up was 4.8 years. Mean annual weight change was +0.32 kg/year, mean change in dense area was −0.77 cm2/year, and mean change in percent density was ‐1.14%/year. In fully adjusted models, annual change in BMI was not significantly associated with changes in dense breast area (−0.17 cm2, 95% CI −0.64, 0.29). Borderline significant negative associations were observed between annual BMI change and annual percent density change, with percent density decreasing 0.36% (95% CI −0.74, 0.02) for a one unit increase in BMI over a year. This longitudinal study provides modest evidence that changes in BMI are not associated with changes in dense area, yet may be negatively associated with percent density.

Cost as a barrier to screening mammography among underserved women

Background. Breast cancer is a troublesome health problem, particularly among underserved and minority women. Early detection through screening mammography can reduce the impact of this disease, yet it remains underused. Objective. We examined cost as a barrier to screening mammography and studied the accuracy of womens perceptions of the cost of a mammogram among a rural, low-income, tri-racial (white, Native American and African American) population in need of a mammogram. Design. We interviewed 897 women age 40 and older, asking about cost as a barrier to mammography and perceptions about the actual costs of a screening mammogram. Face-to-face interviews were conducted between 1998 and 2000 among women participating in a randomized, controlled study to evaluate a health education intervention to improve mammography screening rates in an underserved population. All data used in these analyses were from the baseline interviews. Results. Cost acted as a barrier to screening mammography for a majority of the participants (53%). More than half of these women (52%), however, overestimated the cost of a screening mammogram, and overestimation of the cost was significantly related to mentioning cost as a barrier (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.04–2.33). Higher estimates of out-of-pocket costs were associated with reporting cost as a barrier to mammography (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.43–3.52 for

Body mass index and mortality among older breast cancer survivors in the study of osteoporotic fractures

1–50 and OR 12.64, 95% CI 6.61–24.17 for >

Caffeinated Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee and Endometrial Cancer Risk: A Prospective Cohort Study among US Postmenopausal Women

50). Factors such as race, income and employment status were not related to reporting cost as a barrier to screening mammography. Conclusions. Among a group of tri-racial, low-income, rural women who were in need of a mammogram, cost was a common barrier. Overestimating the cost, however, was significantly and positively associated with reporting cost as a barrier. Providing information about the actual cost women have to pay for mammograms may lessen the role of cost as a barrier to mammography screening, especially for underserved women, potentially improving utilization rates.

Perceptions of insurance coverage for screening mammography among women in need of screening

Background: Breast cancer survival is inversely related to body mass index (BMI), but previous studies have not included large numbers of older women. This study investigated the association between BMI and mortality after breast cancer diagnosis in a cohort of older Caucasian women enrolled in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. Methods: All women were age ≥65 at study entry (N = 533). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to determine the effect of BMI as a continuous variable on risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, any cancer, and breast cancer mortality. Interaction terms were included to evaluate effect modification by age at diagnosis. Results: Mean age at diagnosis was 78.0 years (SD 5.7) with an average of 8.1 years (SD 4.4) of follow-up after diagnosis. There were 206 deaths during follow-up. The effect of BMI on mortality depended on age (Pinteraction = 0.02). At age 65, the risk of mortality was 1.4 times higher for a BMI of 27.3 kg/m2 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.03-2.01] and 2.4 times higher for a BMI of 34.0 kg/m2 (95% CI, 1.07-5.45) compared with women with a BMI of 22.6 kg/m2. At age 85, risk of death was lower for a BMI of 27.3 kg/m2 (hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.65-1.01) or a BMI of 34.0 kg/m2 (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.36-1.02) compared with a BMI of 22.6 kg/m2. Similar results were observed for any cancer and breast cancer mortality. BMI was not associated with cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions: In this population of older women, the effect of increased BMI on risk of mortality after breast cancer varied by age. These results differ from those observed among populations of younger postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(7):1468–73)

Effects of Tomato- and Soy-Rich Diets on the IGF-I Hormonal Network: A Crossover Study of Postmenopausal Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer

There is plausible biological evidence as well as epidemiologic evidence to suggest coffee consumption may lower endometrial cancer risk. We evaluated the associations between self-reported total coffee, caffeinated coffee and decaffeinated coffee, and endometrial cancer risk using the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study Research Materials obtained from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Biological Specimen and Data Repository Coordinating Center. Our primary analyses included 45,696 women and 427 incident endometrial cancer cases, diagnosed over a total of 342,927 person-years of follow-up. We used Cox-proportional hazard models to evaluate coffee consumption and endometrial cancer risk. Overall, we did not find an association between coffee consumption and endometrial cancer risk. Compared to non-daily drinkers (none or <1 cup/day), the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for women who drank ≥4 cups/day were 0.86 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63, 1.18) for total coffee, 0.89 (95% CI 0.63, 1.27) for caffeinated coffee, and 0.51 (95% CI 0.25, 1.03) for decaf coffee. In subgroup analyses by body mass index (BMI) there were no associations among normal-weight and overweight women for total coffee and caffeinated coffee. However among obese women, compared to the referent group (none or <1 cup/day), the hazard ratios for women who drank ≥2 cups/day were: 0.72 (95% CI 0.50, 1.04) for total coffee and 0.66 (95% CI 0.45, 0.97) for caffeinated coffee. Hazard ratios for women who drank ≥2 cups/day for decaffeinated coffee drinkers were 0.67 (0.43-1.06), 0.93 (0.55-1.58) and 0.80 (0.49-1.30) for normal, overweight and obese women, respectively. Our study suggests that caffeinated coffee consumption may be associated with lower endometrial cancer risk among obese postmenopausal women, but the association with decaffeinated coffee remains unclear.