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Home > Health Sciences > JHDRP > Vol. 5 (2011-2012) > Iss. 2

 

Keywords

Cancer – Patients; Cancer registry; Cancer survival; Census tract; Death certificates; Discrimination in medical care; Idaho; Medical statistics; Poor; Poverty; Social status – Health aspects

Disciplines

Epidemiology | Oncology | Public Health

Abstract

Objective. This population-based study compared cause-specific cancer survival by socioeconomic status using methods to more accurately assign cancer deaths to primary site. Methods. The current study analyzed Idaho data used in the Accuracy of Cancer Mortality Statistics Based on Death Certificates (ACM) study supplemented with additional information to measure cause-specific cancer survival by census tract poverty level. Results. The distribution of cases by primary site group differed significantly by poverty level (chi-square = 265.3, 100 df, p In the life table analyses, for 8 of 24 primary site groups investigated, and all sites combined, there was a significant gradient relating higher poverty with poorer survival. For all sites combined, the absolute difference in 5-year cause-specific survival rate was 13.6% between the lowest and highest poverty levels. Conclusions. This study shows striking disparities in cause-specific cancer survival related to the poverty level of the area a person resides in at the time of diagnosis.

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