Education Levels Tied To Cancer Death Rate
Researchers found that recent reductions in cancer death rates in the United States were largely tied to the patient’s amount of education.
The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It illustrated how a person’s health can be closely related to socioeconomic factors such as education and income level.
Researchers found that reductions in death rates from the four leading types of cancer in the United States have been largely driven since the early 1990s by progress among college-educated men and women.
The American Cancer Society and Emory University in Atlanta studied death rates for lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer connected to level of education among U.S. blacks and whites ages ranged 25 to 64.
From 1993 to 2001, death rates decreased for all four categories of cancer in both men and women with at least 16 years of education, which includes a college degree. This held true for all groups except death rates for lung cancer in black women, which were unchanged.
In comparison, adults who did not finish high school and had less than 12 years of education, only saw a decrease in death rates for breast cancer in white women. The study said no other groups saw change.
Researchers also found that death rates increased for lung cancer in white females, and colon cancer for black males among people with less than 12 years of education.
"The recent reductions in death rates from major cancers in the United States have bypassed less-educated working-age people, suggesting that persons in lower socioeconomic groups have not yet benefited equivalently from recent advances in prevention, early detection and treatment of the major fatal cancers," the researchers wrote.
The study suggested plausible explanations for the differences that include less-educated adults are more likely to smoke. They added when taking into consideration breast cancer prevention, less-educated women may be less likely to get a mammogram that could lead to early detection of the disease.
Researchers also pointed out that less-educated people may also be less likely to get colorectal cancer screening tests, and are less likely to afford the best types of cancer treatment.
The study found many lower income people are less likely to have health insurance compared to their higher paid counterparts, and researchers said income levels stay consistent with education levels.
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