Thursday, January 17, 2013

Segregation Linked With Lung Cancer: Differential Racial Impact Noted

Segregation Linked In Study With Lung Cancer by Sabrina Tavernise.  The New York Times.  January 18, 2013.

After dividing the country into three levels of segregation, the study authors found a lung cancer mortality rate of about 20 higher in the most segregated counties.  This differences persisted even controlling for smoking and socio-economic status.  For whites, the effects of segregation were the opposite though it was unclear whether the difference was meaningful.  In an editorial accompanying the research article in JAMA Surgery, Dr. David Change of the University of California San Diego noted:  "We don't need drugs or genetic explanations to fix a lot of the health care problems we have."  Environmental factors play a role in the stark difference in health outcomes in the United States.

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