White British women are more likely to attend cervical screening than women from minority ethnic groups, and women who own a car or home are more likely to have had a mammogram, according to a study published on BMJ Online.

The findings highlight the need for information on patients' ethnicity and some indicators of their socio-economic status to be collected routinely in primary care to help document inequalities in screening.

For the study, more than 3,000 women, aged 40 to 74, were asked whether they had attended screening for cervical cancer and breast cancer between 2005 and 2007.

The researchers found that women were more likely to have had a mammogram if they lived in households with cars and owned their home as opposed to renting.

Ethnicity was found to be a key factor in whether women attended for cervical screening.

Professor Julietta Patnick, director for NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, said: "The findings have been very interesting with women saying they were more likely to have had a mammogram if they owned their own homes and had a car, no matter what their background or where they came from. This differed from cervical screening where ethnicity and education levels were found to have a direct link with the likelihood of being screened.

"The challenge for the screening programmes is to make sure our services reach all parts of the population so we can reduce health inequalities."

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, expressed concern at the fact many women from ethnic minority groups weren't going for screenings.

"We know screening saves lives so it's crucial that women go when invited. This study is important in highlighting the need to target health messages and in understanding the best ways to do so."

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