Ethnic factors in the pathology of the uterine cervix cervical screening: a population at variance with national targets

In recent years, it has been noted that the rate of detection of high-grade uterine cervical abnormalities by screening in the Newham and Tower Hamlet s districts have been much lower than the national average. Whilst the nati onal average for the detection rate of moderate and severe dyskaryosis has been around 1.6%, the detection rate in Newham and Tower Hamlets has consis tently been substantially lower, at 0.6-1.0%. This discrepancy may be expla ined on demographic grounds. The ethnic make up of the two districts differ s from the national average. Newham has a mixed ethnic structure: Moslem (1 1%), Asian non-Moslem (12%) and other groups (77%). The population of Tower Hamlets is made up of Moslem (23%), Asian non-Moslem (11%) and other group s (66%). In both districts? the rate of detection of moderate and severe dy skaryosis in these population subgroups between 1997 and 1999 was 0.57% for Moslem women, 0.52% for Asian non-Moslem women and 1.18% for other women. This study attempts to confirm the effects of social factors in the differe nces in rates of detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in N ewham and Tower Hamlets.