ASPO Abstracts
Gentrification and Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Category: Cancer Health Disparities
Conference Year: 2020
Abstract Body:
Purpose: Neighborhood gentrification represents an important, understudied dynamic
neighborhood driver of cancer disparities. However, to our knowledge, no systematic review
has examined the health impact of gentrification on cancer disparities and behavioral risk
factors in the US. Objective: This review aims to: 1) synthesize the literature on empirical work
that tests the association between gentrification, cancer incidence, and lifestyle behavioral risk
factors; and, 2) develop a responsive conceptual framework.Method: Between March and
November 2019, authors conducted a systematic review via electronic literature searches using
PubMed, MEDLINE through Ovid, PsychInfo, and Sociological Abstracts. Studies were included
if they reported a measured of a) gentrification, b) cancers and c) behavioral risk factors (e.g.,
diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use). Results: Of the 99 titles and abstracts reviewed,
19 full text articles were reviewed. No articles were focused on cancer incidence, but 4 were
associated with behavioral risk factors. All studies focused on alcohol use. One study found a
negative association between gentrification and alcohol use two found no association. Other
studies, found that these relationships varied for displaced resident. One study found that
displaced residents were six times more likely to have alcohol-related hospital admissions,
while another found that moving to a neighborhood with higher socioeconomic conditions (as a
result of displacement) was associated with a decrease in binge drinking among displaced
residents. In contrasts, residents living in neighborhoods less than five years were at greater
risk for binge drinking, compared to those in stable communities. The limited literature,
establishes a relationship between gentrification and cancer-related lifestyle risk factors (i.e.
alcohol use), alluding to a link between gentrification and cancer through, cancer-related
lifestyle risk factors (i.e. alcohol use). Conclusion: Given the established causal link between
alcohol consumption and multiple cancer types, to inform whether gentrification is associated
with cancer through cancer-related lifestyle risk (i.e. alcohol consumption), further empirical
work that explicitly test these association are needed.
Keywords: Cancer, Gentrification, Lifestyle health behaviors