Abstract
Purpose
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada. This study aimed to measure and examine trends in socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of colorectal cancer in Canada.
Methods
This study is a time trend ecological study based on Canadian Census Division level data constructed from the Canadian Cancer Registry, Canadian Census of Population, and National Household Survey. We assessed trends in income and education inequalities in colorectal cancer incidence in Canada from 1992 to 2010. The age-standardized Concentration index (\(C\)), which measures inequality across all socioeconomic groups, was used to quantify socioeconomic inequalities in colorectal cancer incidence in Canada.
Results
The average crude colorectal cancer incidence was found to be 61.52 per 100,000 population over the study period, with males having a higher incidence rate than females (males: 66.98; females: 56.25 per 100,000 population). The crude incidence increased over time and varied by province. The age-standardized C indicated a higher concentration of colorectal cancer incidence among lower income and less-educated neighborhoods in Canada. Income and education inequalities increased over time among males.
Conclusion
The concentration of colorectal cancer incidence in low socioeconomic neighborhoods in Canada has implications for primary prevention and screening.
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Acknowledgments
The analyses for this paper were conducted at the Statistics Canada’s Atlantic Research Data Centre (ARDC) at Dalhousie University, which is part of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN). We would like to thank the CRDCN for facilitating access to the Canadian Cancer Registry, Canadian Census of Population, and the National Household Survey. We also would like to thank Min Hu for his research assistance and the two anonymous reviewers of the journal for their thoughtful comments on the manuscript.
Funding
We acknowledge funding for this research provided by the Faculty of Health—Research Development Grant, Dalhousie University.
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We accessed the Canadian Cancer Registry, Canadian Census of Population, and National Household Survey through Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centre (RDC). Data accessed through the RDC, which follows strict disclosure protocols in accordance with the Statistics Acts, is exempt from approval by the Research Ethics Board (REB) as per Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical conduct for research involving humans (TCPS2) article 2.2 (a).
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Hajizadeh, M., Charles, M., Johnston, G.M. et al. Socioeconomic inequalities in colorectal cancer incidence in Canada: trends over two decades. Cancer Causes Control 33, 193–204 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-021-01518-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-021-01518-x