Table 2.
Indications for colonoscopy n (%)
| Indication | Black Africans n = 460 | Caucasians n = 1236 | Asians/other n = 109 | P value |
| Routine screening, asymptomatic | 31 (7) | 331 (27) | 25 (23) | < 0.001 |
| Previous lesion1 | 16 (3) | 66 (5) | 6 (6) | 0.273 |
| Haematochezia | 174 (38) | 234 (19) | 22 (20) | < 0.001 |
| Anaemia | 68 (15) | 47 (4) | 17 (16) | < 0.001 |
| Altered bowel habit | 201 (44) | 543 (44) | 37 (34) | 0.126 |
| Loss of weight | 43 (9) | 72 (6) | 6 (6) | 0.037 |
| Abdominal pain | 149 (32) | 286 (23) | 32 (29) | < 0.001 |
| Family history of bowel cancer | 15 (3) | 184 (15) | 11 (10) | < 0.001 |
1
Previous adenomatous polyps, colon carcinoma or inflammatory bowel disease. Some patients had more than one indication, thus the summation of the percentages may be more 100%.