Educational differences in cancer mortality among women and men: a gender pattern that differs across Europe

Abstract

We used longitudinal mortality data sets for the 1990s to compare socioeconomic inequalities in total cancer mortality between women and men aged 30 -74 in 12 different European populations (Madrid, Basque region, Barcelona, Slovenia, Turin, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland) and to investigate which cancer sites explain the differences found. We measured socioeconomic status using educational level and computed relative indices of inequality (RII). We observed large variations within Europe for educational differences in total cancer mortality among men and women. Three patterns were observed: Denmark, Norway and Sweden (significant RII around 1.3 -1.4 among both men and women); France, Switzerland, Belgium and Finland (significant RII around 1.7 -1.8 among men and around 1.2 among women); Spanish populations, Slovenia and Turin (significant RII from 1.29 to 1.88 among men; no differences among women except in the Basque region, where RII is significantly lower than 1). Lung, upper aerodigestive tract and breast cancers explained most of the variations between gender and populations in the magnitude of inequalities in total cancer mortality. Given time trends in cancer mortality, the gap in the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality between gender and between European populations will probably decrease in the future.

Time trends in educational differences in lung and upper aero digestive tract cancer mortality in France between 1990 and 2007

“…In France, during the 1990s, educational differences were reported in favor of the higher educated men. No differences were observed among women, showing an intermediate position between Northern and Southern European countries [7]. For UADT cancer, higher mortality rates were found among lower educated men in all countries, especially in Slovenia, France and Switzerland and among lower educated women in Switzerland, France and the Nordic countries [7].…”

The Swiss National Cohort: a unique database for national and international researchers

“…The SNC also contributed to a better understanding of the risk of suicide in HIV-infected patients before and after the introduction of potent antiretroviral therapies . The study also participated in several European collaborative analyses (Borrell et al 2005;Huisman et al 2004Huisman et al , 2005Menvielle et al 2008;Strand et al 2007). Other projects are awaiting publication, including studies of the role of religion in suicide, studies on risk factors for fatal road traffic accidents, aircraft noise and fatal myocardial infarction and the association between socio-economic position and the risk of childhood cancer.…”

Lung Cancer Trends in Southeastern Serbia

“…Patterns of educational differences in lung cancer mortality differ strongly by population and gender as in work of Mackenbach JP, et al (2004) (21), and it is now confirmed across a broader set of populations, including France, Slovenia, and Basque region (22). This reflects differences in the spread of the smoking epidemic (23), in which higher smoking rates are first observed among subjects of higher socio-economic status.…”