Traci Mouw|Annemarie Koster|Margaret E. Wright|Madeleine Blank|Stephen Moore|Albert R. Hollenbeck|Arthur Schatzkin
Education and Risk of Cancer in a Large Cohort of Men and Women in the United States
Imperial College London|National Institute on Aging|National Institutes of Health|Maastricht University|University of Illinois at Chicago|National Institutes of Health|National Cancer Institute|National Institutes of Health|National Cancer Institute|AARP|National Institutes of Health|National Cancer Institute
education inequalities cancer incidence long noted clear however whether inequalities persist united states especially less common malignancies adjustment individual risk factorswithin nihaarp diet health study examined association education risk developing cancers prospective cohort 498455 participants 5071 year old without cancer enrollment 199596 maximum 82 years followup identified 40443 cancers men 18367 women ageadjusted models least educated men high school compared education postgraduate increased risks developing cancers esophagus rr 264 95ci186375 head neck 198 154254 stomach 232 168318 colon 131 1121 53 rectum 168 132213 liver 190 122295 lung 367 325415 pleura 401 191842 bladder 156133183 combined smokingrelated cancers 241 222262 contrast lower education level associated decreased risk melanoma skin 043 035054 local prostate cancers 079 074085 women least education increased risks colon 160 124205 lung 214 179256 kidney 168 112254 combined smokingrelated cancers 166 143192 lower risk melanoma skin 033 022051 endometrial 067 051089 invasive breast cancers 072 061084 adjustment smoking risk factors eliminate associations except cancers head neck colon liver men kidney womenwe found higher risk malignant disease particularly smoking related cancers among lowest educational attainment category educational gradient attributable smoking persistence substantial education inequalities cancer incidence poses challenge etiologic research public health policy