Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 13, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 15-26

Cancer incidence among Canadian immigrants, 1980-1998: Results from a national cohort study (Article)

McDermott S.* , Desmeules M. , Lewis R. , Gold J. , Payne J. , Lafrance B. , Vissandjée B. , Kliewer E. , Mao Y.
  • a Innovations and Trends Analysis Division, Strategic Initiatives and Innovations Directorate, Public Health Agency of Canada, 785 Carling Avenue, A.L. 6809B Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada
  • b Health Determinants and Global Initiatives Division, Strategic Initiatives and Innovations Directorate, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • c Evidence and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • d Evidence and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • e Evidence and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada, Gender and Health Unit, Regions and Programs Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • f Health Statistics Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • g School of Nursing Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • h Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Registry, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, Cancer Control Research, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • i Evidence and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada, Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Abstract

Canadian immigrants have lower overall cancer risk than the Canadian-born population. Less is known about risks for immigrant subgroups and site-specific cancers. Linked administrative data sets were used to compare cancer incidence between subgroups of immigrants to Canada and the general Canadian population. The study involved 128,962 refugees and 241,010 non-refugees. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for all-site and site-specific cancers by immigration categories and regions of birth. Relative to the general Canadian population, incidence of all-site cancer was lower among immigrants overall, by sex and refugee status (non-refugee SIRs 0.25: men, 0.24: women; refugee SIRs 0.31: both). Significantly higher SIRs resulted for liver, nasopharyngeal and cervical cancers, including liver cancer among South-East Asian and North-East Asian immigrants, and nasopharyngeal cancer among North-East Asian non-refugees. Hypothesized explanations for variation in cancer incidence include earlier viral infection in the country of origin. © 2010 Her Majesty the Queen in Rights of Canada.

Author Keywords

Non-refugee cancer Immigrant Standardized incidence ratio Refugee

Index Keywords

neoplasm Neoplasms human middle aged Cohort Studies Aged ethnology Young Adult Humans Adolescent Infant, Newborn Canada male preschool child Emigrants and Immigrants Infant Child, Preschool newborn medical record female Medical Record Linkage prevalence Article adult migration cohort analysis Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-79551496450&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-010-9347-3&partnerID=40&md5=7552a100ac642ec194313d6b71318558
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-010-9347-3
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 39
Original Language: English