Brain Cancer Statistics
Study ties income to brain cancer risk A study has found that people with low incomes are more likely than other people to develop brain cancer, according to a May 24, 2004, news release from the American Academy of Neurology. During a two-year period, researchers identified all new cases of brain cancer diagnosed in patients between the ages of 25 and 84 that occurred in the state of Michigan. A total of 1,006 cases were studied.
The overall brain cancer rate was 8.1 cases per 100,000 people. The rate of brain cancer in patients classified as having tow income based on their eligibility to receive Medicaid, however, was 14.2 cases per 100,000 compared to 7.5 cases per 100,000 for all other patients. The difference was greatest among patients who were younger than age 44. For people over age 67, there was no significant difference in incidence of brain cancer between patients with Low incomes and the other patients.
The researchers do not know why tow income is associated with higher rates of brain cancer. They speculate that poverty may accelerate the onset of cancer in people who are biologically predisposed to develop it, because low income status is associated with environmental factors, such as exposure to toxins, poor nutrition and shelter, and education and health factors.
People With Low Incomes More Likely to Develop Brain Tumors (news release, St Paul, Minn: American Academy of Neurology, May 24, 2004) http://www.aan.com/press /press/index.cfm?fuseacfion=release.view&release=210 (accessed 25 May 2004).
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