Socio-economic drivers and effects of contraceptive usage on breast cancer among women in Nigeria

Abstract

Certain types of contraceptives might have adverse effects on women’s health including the possibility of causing breast cancer (BC). Furthermore, the types of contraceptives used might depend on the socioeconomic status of women. The triangular linkage of socioeconomic factors, contraceptives, and some factors causing BC among women are scarce in the literature, especially in developing countries. Consequently, the objectives of the study are to investigate the socio-economic drivers of BC and assess effects of contraceptive on BC among women in Nigeria. Cross-sectional data were collected on a one-off participant at a particular point in time using questionnaires on 200 women with confirmed cases of BC in Southwest, Nigeria, on a continuous visitation to the hospitals over six months. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with strong evidence from path analysis was adopted to achieve the objectives. Exploratory factors analysis was adopted to identify the socio-economic factors. The study analysed certain socioeconomic pre-determinants of BC through the use of contraceptives among women in Southwest Nigeria. The study provided evidence that some tested socioeconomic factors influence women in the use of contraceptive implants (C2) and oral contraceptives (C3), at a 1% level of significance. While about 76.8% of variations in socio-economic factors cause women to adopt a contraceptive implant, 81.1% of socioeconomic factors cause women to adopt oral contraceptives. Again, the result further provided evidence that socioeconomic factors (CCT) are strong determinants of BC at a 1% level of significance. Given the women-specific peculiarities, implanted contraceptives and oral contraceptives should be carefully administered by medical scientists. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[11]: 31-45).