Fitness and Nutrition News
Southern States Struggling with Colorectal Cancer Rates
By: Staff Writer | Tuesday 12 July 2011 12:34 PDT
Southern States Struggling with Colorectal Cancer Rates
A recent report in an American Association for Cancer Research journal discovered that Southern U.S. states are struggling to keep up with the rest of the country in terms of improved colorectal mortality rates.
According to Ahmedin Jemal, vice president of surveillance research for the American Cancer Society, the mortality rate of those affected by the disease in Massachusetts has improved by 37 percent, whereas Mississippi has experienced no difference recently.
"This was very surprising, because when you look at the differences in reductions by state they are huge," said Jemal.
Colorectal cancer is currently the third-most deadly form of cancer, however, national mortality rates have been declining recently. To conduct their report, the study's researchers analyzed cases involving patients affected by the disease nationwide between 1990 and 2007.
The researchers believe the economic disparities play a large part in why some areas experienced better success rates than Southern states. In Mississippi, 18.8 percent of citizens are without health insurance, while just 5.4 percent of Massachusetts residents are not covered. Furthermore, 20 percent of Mississippi's population lives below the poverty line, compared to the national average of 13 percent.
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