Men Have Higher Cancer Death Rates Than Women

Study Suggests Diagnosis of Cancer Is More Frequent for Men

July 12, 2011 -- Men are more likely than women to die of cancer in the U.S., a new study shows.

"Our research suggests that the main factor driving greater frequency of cancer deaths in men is the greater frequency of cancer diagnosis, rather than poorer survival once the cancer occurs," says study researcher Michael B. Cook, PhD, BsC, of the National Cancer Institute.

The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Cook says that if investigators "can identify the causes of these gender differences in cancer incidence, then we can take preventative actions to reduce the cancer burden in both men and women."

Cook and his research team analyzed U.S. data from a large database that contained statistics on 36 cancers by age and sex for the period of 1977 to 2006.

For "the vast majority" of the cancers, rates were higher among men than women, the researchers write.

The highest male-to-female death rate ratios were 5.51 men for every woman for lip cancer, 5.37 to 1 for cancer of the larynx, and 4.47 to 1 for cancer of the hypopharynx (a type of throat cancer).

The male-female death rate ratio for cancer of the esophagus was 4.08 to 1, and 3.36 to 1 for urinary bladder cancer.

Many cancers with the highest overall death rates also showed greater death risk for men than women. The male-female ratios for lung cancer were 2.31 to 1, for colorectal cancer 1.42 to 1, and 1.37 to 1 for pancreatic cancer.

For leukemia, the male-female ratio was 1.75 to 1, and for liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer the ratio was 2.23 to 1.

Researchers analyzed the five-year survival rate of people with many types of cancer. Men had poorer survival than women for most, but the researchers say they could not assign a "singular root cause."

However, differences in screening of people without symptoms, the presence of other illnesses or health care behaviors, and differences in the behavior of the cancer may be factors in the higher male-to-female death rate for cancer, according to the researchers.

Three cancers had a higher death rate in women than men: gallbladder cancer, anal cancer, and cancer of the peritoneum, omentum, and mesentery.

Cook tells WebMD in an email that the reason for the difference in mortality rates is "not clear cut."

"For many cancer sites, male and female incidence rates have changed disproportionately over time, and this implies that the root cause of sex differences in cancer incidence rates, and by extension cancer mortality rates, are sex differences in tobacco smoking and viral infections, anti-oxidative capacity and hormones and metal toxicity."

The researchers state that future studies should focus on the factors responsible for greater rates of diagnosis of cancer among men.

Teenage Birth Rates Are Down

Teenage Birth Rates Are Down Skip to content Home & News WebMD Home WebMD News Home Free Health Newsletters WebMD Community & Experts See All Expert Blogs WebMD the Magazine Digital Health A-Z ADD/ADHD Allergies Allergy TV Alzheimer's Anxiety Disorders Arthritis Asthma Back Pain Bipolar Disorder Bipolar TV Breast Cancer Cancer Cancer Communities Cholesterol Cold & Flu Colorectal Cancer COPD Depression Depression TV Diabetes Erectile Dysfunction Eye Health Fibromyalgia Heart Disease Heartburn/GERD Herpes Hypertension IBS Incontinence/OAB Inflammatory Bowel Menopause Mental Health Migraines Multiple Sclerosis Osteoporosis Pain Management Parkinson's Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis Sexual Conditions Shingles Skin Problems Sleep Disorders Stroke See All Topics Videos A-Z Community & Experts Experts A-Z First Aid A-Z Games A-Z Tests & Tools A-Z Slideshows A-Z Drugs & Medications Center Find or Review a Drug Pill Identifier Drug News Mobile Drug Information Find a Vitamin or Supplement First Aid & Emergencies WebMD Community & Experts WebMD Ask the Pharmacist Healthy Living Women's Health Men's Health Pet Health Oral Health Emotional Health Mental Health Communities Find a Therapist Green Living 50+: Live Better, Longer Sex & Relationships Skin & Beauty Healthy Skin TV Sexual Health Communities See All Topics Women's Health Communities Skin & Beauty Community Men's Health Communities Healthy Eating & Diet Healthy Eating & Diet Food & Cooking Food-o-Meter Fit-o-Meter Fitness & Exercise Food & Fitness Planner Portion Size Helper Personal Diet Evaluator BMI Plus Calculator Eating & Diet Communities Digestive Disorders Communities Parenting & Pregnancy Parenting Pregnancy Children's Health Children's Vaccines Newborn & Baby New! Raising Fit Kids New! WebMD for Kids Parenting Communities Pregnancy Communities Trying to Conceive Communities Teen Health Teen Girls Teen Boys coming soon! New! WebMD FIT Teen Food Move Recharge Mood Pet Health Healthy Dogs Healthy Cats Healthy Pets Community

Obesity Rates Are Increasing in 16 States

Study Shows Colorado Has the Lowest Adult Obesity Rate and Mississippi the Highest

July 7, 2011 -- Adult obesity rates increased in 16 states during the past year, and none of the 50 states showed any decline in their rates of obesity, a study shows.

The findings are from the eighth edition of the "F as in Fat" report put out by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Obesity rates have doubled in seven states since 1995 and increased by 90% in 10 other states; 22 states saw obesity rates increase by as much as 80%, the report shows.

The state with the lowest obesity rate today, Colorado, would actually have had the highest rate in 1995, according to the study.

But the report does offer a glimmer of hope: It marks the first time that there were fewer than 20 states with increasing adult obesity rates.

From 2006 through 2008, more than 30 states saw increased rates of obesity. During the following two years, the number of states experiencing increases in obesity rates was in the 20s. This year's report showed 16 states with increasing rates of obesity.

"This is a small victory and does not mean we can ease off the gas pedal," said James Marks, MD, MPH, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J., during a teleconference.

This trend may be due to local, state, and federal efforts aimed at making communities more walkable as well as increasing the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables.

"We have to assume the glimmer of hope we can identify is due to these actions and many more that are beginning to get traction," he says. "What we hope we are seeing in the decline of the number of states with increasing obesity rates is that these actions are starting to slow the rate of the increase. In the not-too-distant future, we hope you see states turn the corner."

The new report breaks down obesity rates and anti-obesity initiatives by state, regions, and ethnic groups and also documents the rise in obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Nine of 10 states with the highest rates of obesity are in the South, while states in the Northeast and West had lower rates, the report shows. Mississippi had the highest adult obesity rates for the seventh year in a row and Colorado had the lowest (less than 20%).

Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate higher than 15%, but today 38 states have obesity rates over 25%. Obesity rates are growing rapidly in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tennessee and at a slower pace in Washington D.C., Colorado, and Connecticut.

Overall, rates of obesity are highest among members of racial and ethnic minority groups, the study showed. Along with the increase in obesity rates comes a corresponding increase in diseases associated with obesity such as diabetes and high blood pressure.   

Colon Cancer Death Rates Vary by State

Study Shows Colorectal Cancer Death Rates Are Highest in the South

July 7, 2011 -- Colorectal cancer screening is reducing the number of deaths from the disease, but death rates vary widely among regions and states, according to a new report.

Colorectal cancer death rates are higher in Southern states along the Appalachian Mountain corridor and lower in the Northeast, researchers say.

Their report is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. It comes just days after the CDC reported that deaths from colorectal cancer have declined dramatically in recent years due to greater emphasis on screening procedures.

But the new report indicates that though the death rate is decreasing across the country, it is dropping unevenly.

American Cancer Society researchers examined death data from 1990 to 2007 across the U.S. and found that reductions in death rates between 1990-1994 and 2003-2007 ranged from no decrease in Mississippi to 9% in Alabama to more than 33% in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Alaska.

The researchers say there is a strong correlation between higher rates of screening for colon cancer and bigger reductions in death rates from the disease.

The researchers note that screening rates are lower among people who are poor and uninsured. In Mississippi, 18.8% of people had no health insurance in 2007. But in Massachusetts, only 5.4% lacked health insurance coverage.

Ahmedin Jemal, DVM, PhD, vice president for research of the American Cancer Society, says the differences in death rate reductions by state "are huge."

Overall, states in the South had a lower reduction in death rates than states in the North, the researchers say, and cite economic differences as a main reason.

More than 20% of people in Mississippi were living below the poverty line in 2007, compared with a national average of 13%.

"It used to be that the highest rates of colorectal cancer mortality were in the northeastern part of the United States, but now we've really seen a switch," Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD, of the University of Arizona, says in the news release. "It shows the importance of access to screening."

The researchers say that in general screening is lower and the proportion of late-stage colorectal cases higher in Southern states, compared with other regions. Southern states have a greater proportion of poor people and people without health insurance.

Other possible factors include less access to health care facilities and treatment.

Also, obesity is much higher in Southern states, and progress in reducing smoking rates has been slower. Both are risk factors for colorectal and other cancers.

"The relatively higher proportion of blacks in Southern states is another factor that may have contributed to the less favorable trend in reducing [colorectal cancer] mortality for all races combined in this region," the authors write.

Nationally, colorectal cancer death rates have declined much more slowly among African-Americans.