Identification of racial disparities in breast cancer mortality: does scale matter?

Table 4 Number of geographical units at various levels of aggregation with significant disparities in breast cancer mortality for African-American women.

Poverty Level		High SES (0-9.99%)	Middle SES (10.00-19.99%)	Low SES (≥20.00%)	Total
Census Tract (4388)	RD¹ < 0	0	0	2	2
	RD > 0	34	54	190	278
	RD² < 1	0	0	0	0
	RR > 1	0	0	0	0
Zip Code (2884)	RD < 0	0	0	0	0
	RD > 0	2	8	12	22
	RR < 1	0	0	0	0
	RR > 1	3	0	0	3
County (254)	RD < 0	0	0	0	0
	RD > 0	0	1	0	1
	RR < 1	0	0	0	0
	RR > 1	0	2	0	2

Units are classified according to their socioeconomic status (SES) as measured by the percentage of population below the poverty threshold.
¹The rate difference (RD) measurement is an absolute measure of breast cancer mortality rates for Black women compared to the Whites.
²The rate ratio (RR) measurement is a relative measure of breast cancer mortality rates for Black women compared to the Whites.

ISSN: 1476-072X