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Cancer prevalence higher among individuals who have been incarcerated
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Incidence and mortality of certain cancers was significantly greater in people who spent time in prisons than in the general population, according to a population-based study conducted in Ontario, Canada and published in PLoS ONE.
Results showed men who spent time in prisons were 1.6 times more likely to die of cancer and women who spent time in prisons were 1.4 times more likely than men and women who were not incarcerated.
“We know that people who spend time in jails and prisons in Canada are more likely to use alcohol and tobacco, as well as have infections such as HPV and HIV, which can increase the risk for developing some types of cancers,” Fiona Kouyoumdjian, PhD, public health physician and researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital and McMaster University, said in a press release. “Specific strategies that could prevent cancer in this population include smoking cessation, vaccination for HPV and HBV, pap screening and treatment for hepatitis C. These strategies could have a large impact given that many people who experience incarceration are quite young.”
In their study, researchers aimed to describe cancer prevalence, incidence and mortality in 48,166 adults (43,419 men; 69% white; 65.6% aged 20-39 years) admitted to provincial custody in Ontario in 2000.
Researchers calculated cancer prevalence in the 10 years prior to admission to custody, along with incidence between 2000 and 2012 and mortality between 2000 and 2011.
At admission, 0.4% of men and 0.6% of women had prevalent cancer. However, between 2000 and 2012, 2.6% of incarcerated men and 2.8% of incarcerated women were diagnosed with new cancers.
The standardized incidence ratio for cancer was 1 (95% CI, 0.9-1) for men and 0.9 (95% CI, 0.7-1) for women compared with the general population. Cancers with significantly higher incidence among incarcerated men included lung (incidence per 1,000 person-years, 0.5), liver (0.1), and head and neck cancers (0.2). Cancers with significantly higher incidence among women included lung (0.5), cervical (0.3) and liver ( 0.1) cancers.
The standardized mortality ratio was 1.6 (95% CI, 1.4-1.7) for men and 1.4 (95% CI, 1-1.9) for women, and was significantly increased for head and neck, liver, and lung cancers.
Incarcerated men were more than three times as likely as men from the general population to die of head and neck cancer (deaths per 1,000 person-years, 0.1) and liver cancer (0.1), whereas women who spent time in prisons were three times as likely to die of cervical cancer ( 0.1).
Researchers noted that cancer prevalence in incarcerated persons in their study is lower than in previous studies, but emphasized the need for intervention, because most cohort members spent a total of more than 3 months in provincial custody.
“Incarceration represents a chance to help people improve their health through the provision of services and linkage with programs in the community,” Kouyoumdjian said. – by Chuck Gormley
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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