Racial Disparities in Gastrointestinal Cancers-Related Mortality in the US Population
Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 08/08/2012
Clinical Article
Jinjuvadia R et al. – Overall GI cancer–related mortality is significantly higher among Non–Hispanic black (NHB) compared to non–Hispanic white (NHW) in the US population.
Methods- NHANES III and its related public linked mortality files were used for this study.
- The study cohort included subjects who were ≥18 years and were part of the longitudinal mortality follow-up database.
- The overall GI cancers related mortality was calculated using combined mortality from malignant neoplasm of esophagus, stomach, colon, liver and pancreas.
- The evaluation of independent predictors of overall GI cancer-related mortality and of each individual GI cancer was carried out using the Cox proportional hazards model.
- A total of 13,221 individuals were included in the analyses with the average person year follow-up of 13.9 years.
- During the follow-up period, 4,146 subjects died.
- Of these, 199 were from GI-related cancers.
- Non-Hispanic black (NHB) had significantly higher overall GI-cancer related mortality compared to non-Hispanic white (NHW, adjusted hazard ratio, aHR: 2.31, 95 % CI 1.57-3.38, p<0.001).
- Subgroup analyses by sex demonstrated higher mortality from gastric, colorectal and primary liver cancer related mortality in NHB men compared to NHW men.
- Esophageal and pancreatic cancer mortalities were higher in NHB women compared to NHW women.
