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. 2021 Jun:72:101938.
doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2021.101938. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Kidney cancer mortality disparities among Hispanics in the US

Paulo S Pinheiro  1 , Heidy N Medina  2 , Karen E Callahan  3 , Tulay Koru-Sengul  4 , Janaki Sharma  5 , Erin N Kobetz  6 , Frank J Penedo  7
Affiliations

Kidney cancer mortality disparities among Hispanics in the US

Paulo S Pinheiro et al. Cancer Epidemiol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: Kidney cancer incidence is increasing among Hispanics but rate differences by distinct group, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican have not been studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we use mortality data, reflecting fatal kidney cancers, to examine patterns by race-ethnicity, including detailed Hispanic groups, and correlate the mortality rates with each group's prevalence of known kidney cancer risk factors: smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.

Methods: We used individual-level death data for California, Florida, and New York (2008-2018), and population prevalence data from the National Health Interview Surveys (2008-2018). Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) and regression-derived mortality rate ratios (MRRs) were computed. Pearson correlation analyses assessed the extent to which group-specific risk factor prevalence explained variability in observed AAMRs.

Results: US-born Mexican Americans and American Indians had the highest rates and MRRs compared to Whites: 1.44 (95 %CI: 1.35-1.53) and 1.51 (1.38-1.64) for Mexican American men and women, respectively, and 1.54 (95 %CI: 1.25-1.89) and 1.53 (95 %CI: 1.15-2.04) for American Indians. In contrast, non-Mexican Hispanics had lower rates than Whites. Among males, positive correlations between AAMRs and smoking, obesity, and chronic kidney disease prevalence by race-ethnicity were found.

Conclusion: Mexican Americans and American Indians are high-risk for fatal kidney cancer. Disparities are only partially attributable to higher smoking and obesity prevalence, and more so among men than women. A shared risk factor profile, as well as possible genetic similarities, may explain their disproportionately higher kidney cancer mortality, but further research is warranted.

Keywords: American Indian; Cuban; Mexican; Obesity; Smoking.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Age-specific mortality rates by select racial-ethnic groups
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Correlation between AAMRs and prevalence of smoking, obesity, and chronic kidney disease by race-ethnicity and sex.
Abbreviations: AAMR, Age-adjusted mortality rate; AI, American Indian; API, Asian/Pacific Islander; C, Cuban; B, Black; D, Dominican; MA, Mexican American; MI, Mexican Immigrant; PR, Puerto Rican; SCA, South/Central American; W, White
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