Ethnic differences in cancer incidence and mortality: the Birmingham Factory Screening Project

• Published in: QJM : An International Journal of Medicine 2007-07, Vol.100 (7), p.423-431
• Main Authors: Lane, D.A., Lip, G.Y.H., Beevers, D.G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; African Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Biological and medical sciences; Cohort Studies; Epidemiology; European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Female; Follow-Up Studies; General aspects; Humans; Incidence; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - ethnology; Neoplasms - mortality; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Risk Factors; United Kingdom - epidemiology
• ISSN: 1460-2725; 1460-2393
• DOI: 10.1093/qjmed/hcm041

Background: There is little information on ethnic differences in the incidence of cancer and cancer mortality among adults in the UK, particularly concerning Afro-Caribbean people. Aim: To examine differences in the incidence of malignant cancer and cancer mortality rates among White European, Afro-Caribbean, and South-Asian people, and to examine baseline demographic predictors of cancer mortality. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Methods: We compared ethnic differences in the incidence of malignant cancer and cancer mortality over a mean (SD) follow-up of 19.9 (4.8) years, in relation to baseline demographic characteristics and blood pressure variables, in the 2713 participants (2090 White European men and women, 428 Afro-Caribbean men and women, and 195 South Asian men) enrolled in the Birmingham Factory Screening Project whose survival status on 31 December 2003 was known. Results: White European women had a significantly higher incidence of cancer compared to Afro-Caribbean women (p = 0.019). In addition, South Asian men had a significantly lower incidence of cancer compared to White European men (p < 0.0001) and Afro-Caribbean men (p = 0.048). The incidence of cancer was similar in White European and Afro-Caribbean men (p = 1.00). Overall incidence densities of cancer and death from cancer were 0.6% and 0.3% per 100 person-years of observation, respectively. Age, ethnicity, and smoking status were independent predictors of both cancer incidence and cancer mortality. Discussion: The incidence of, and death from, cancer are both lower in minority ethnic groups in the UK, than in their White European counterparts.