Does the Primary Care Experience Influence the Cancer Diagnostic Process?
Table 1
Patient characteristics by cancer site.
All patients
Patients with breast cancer
Patients with lung cancer
Patients with colorectal cancer
Difference between cancer sites
()
()
()
()
%
%
%
%
value
Female
213
69.4
106
99.1
59
64.8
48
44.0
0.003
Age = 65 years or more
111
36.2
23
21.5
40
44.0
48
44.0
<0.001
College or university education
174
56.7
68
63.6
41
45.1
65
59.6
0.024
Income adjusted for household size (top quartile)
59
23.0
23
24.0
12
17.1
24
26.4
0.369
At least one cardiometabolic risk factor1
148
48.4
42
39.3
46
51.1
60
55.1
0.056
At least one chronic illness2
153
50.0
53
49.5
58
64.4
42
38.5
0.001
Presence of metastasis at initial diagnosis
84
27.9
6
5.7
42
47.7
36
33.3
<0.001
Cardiometabolic risk factors: high blood pressure, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia. 2Chronic illnesses: cardiac, respiratory, musculoskeletal, digestive, mental health, or stroke-related problems. Pearson’s Chi-Square test. For gender, we compared patients with lung cancer to patients with colorectal cancer (patients with breast cancer were excluded).
