Socioeconomic Status and Breast Cancer Risk on Cape Cod
Author Information
Author(s): Thomas F. Webster, Kate Hoffman, Janice Weinberg, Verónica Vieira, Ann Aschengrau
Primary Institution: Boston University School of Public Health
Hypothesis
Do individual and community socioeconomic status (SES) independently influence breast cancer risk?
Conclusion
Women living in higher-SES communities had an increased risk of developing breast cancer independent of their own SES.
Supporting Evidence
- Women with the highest education had greater breast cancer risk.
- Community-level SES was associated with breast cancer incidence.
- Results were stronger when considering a 10-year latency period.
Takeaway
This study found that women in wealthier communities are more likely to get breast cancer, even if they themselves are not wealthy.
Methodology
The study used case-control data from women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1987 and 1993, analyzing individual and community-level SES data from census records.
Potential Biases
Potential misclassification of community-level SES due to differences in census district boundaries over time.
Limitations
The study could not obtain earlier census data for multilevel analyses and had missing covariate data for some participants.
Participant Demographics
Women diagnosed with breast cancer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, primarily older and predominantly white.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95% CI, 1.03–3.14
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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