ASPO Abstracts
Geographic variations in mortality from 5 common cancers in the United States from 1999-2016.
Category: Cancer Health Disparities
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
Purpose: This study examines the scope of mortality associated with common cancer types inthe U.S. from 1999-2016, exploring differences by census region and levels of rurality. Methods: We used data from the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (available via the CDC wonder platform) to investigate mortality trends forbreast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer from 1999-2016. Age adjustedmortality rates for each cancer type were calculated per 100,000 residents within each level of the 2013 NCHSUrban-Rural Classification Scheme. Results: Common cancers such as breast, cervical, lung, prostate, and colon have beenresponsible for more than 976,000 deaths in America’s rural areas from 1999-2016. Rural areas had higherage-adjusted crude mortality rates for lung, prostate, and colon cancer, compared to urban areas. Large centralmetropolitan areas (most urban) had higher rates of breast and cervical cancer, compared to rural areas. Mortalityfrom lung cancer was higher in rural areas compared to urban across all regions but the Midwest. All analyzedcancer types except prostate cancer had consistently lower mortality rates in the West region of the U.S. Conclusion: Results from this study indicate that the influence of rurality on mortalityoutcomes varies across cancer type. While we observed higher mortality rates from lung cancer, prostate cancer,and colon cancer in rural areas relative to urban areas, the opposite is true for breast and cervical cancermortality rates. For most of the cancer types included in this investigation, mortality rates were highest in the South andlowest in the West–with especially high rates observed in the rural South. Findings indicate the need foradditional funding and resources in the South to reduce mortality from lung, colon, and cervical cancers and in the ruralWest to reduce mortality from prostate cancer.
Keywords: Rural populations,Health disparities,Geographic disparities