Socioeconomic differentials in lung cancer risk in Mumbai

Namrata Agarwal, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Usha Ram, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Cancer is effected by the conditions under which the individuals live, lifestyle they follow and the changes that are induced in the natural physical environment. Lung cancer is closely associated with smoking. It is an individual’s habit but is greatly influenced by the socioeconomic factors. Case-control study design has been used to study these differentials. The average age at diagnosis of lung cancer cases was 61.1 years and that of controls was 62.3 years. An inverse association between lung cancer and highest level of education was found. The analysis revealed that the risk of lung cancer decreased significantly with increase in education levels both for males and females. Compared with high income adequacy, an increased risk was found among low income males and females. When compared with male never smokers, the past smokers and current smokers were found to be at increased risk of lung cancer. A similar trend was seen among females, though the number of current female smokers was not too large as compared to males. Odds ratio also increased with the increase in number of cigarettes smoked among males. The strong correlation was also found with early age at initiation of smoking. The analysis also revealed that people consuming non-veg, spicy and hot food were found to be at increased risk than people eating veg, non spicy and moderate food.