CRC Mortality Rates Vary Significantly Between States

Northeastern states show greater decrease in colorectal cancer mortality rates than southern

THURSDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) -- There has been a significant decrease in colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality rates across all states in the United States, except Mississippi, between 1990 and 2007, with northeastern states showing the maximum decreases and the southern states showing the least, according to a study published in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Deepa Naishadham, from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed temporal trends in age-standardized CRC death rates for each U.S. state from 1990 to 2007, using a joinpoint regression model. State-wise changes in death rates were calculated from 1990 to 1994 and 2003 to 2007, and changes in mortality and CRC screening rates were calculated for 2004.

The investigators identified a significant decrease in the CRC mortality rates from 1990 to 2007, in all states except Mississippi, from the joinpoint model. From 1990 to 1994, and 2003 to 2007, the decrease in death rate varied from 9 percent in Alabama to more than 33 percent in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Alaska, with no significant decrease in Mississippi and Wyoming. In general, the largest and smallest decreases in death rate were observed in the northeastern and southern states, respectively. There was a shift in the highest CRC mortality rates from the northeastern states during 1990 to 1994 to the southern states during 2003 to 2007. The state-wise decrease in CRC mortality rates was strongly associated with screening uptake (r = −0.65).

"Progress in reducing CRC mortality rates varies significantly across states, with those in the Northeast showing the most progress and those in the South showing the least progress," the authors write.

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