Neighborhood deprivation is associated with elevated breast cancer mortality rates among non-Hispanic White women.
The Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI), encompassing poverty, unemployment, and education levels, highlights social determinants impacting health outcomes.
Factors hindering access to mammograms and healthcare services contribute to delayed detection and treatment.
Disparities in breast cancer mortality between Black and White women warrant further investigation beyond neighborhood deprivation.
Research Insights:
Recent findings published in JAMA Network Open underscore the critical impact of neighborhood deprivation on breast cancer mortality among non-Hispanic White women in the United States. This cohort study, conducted using data from the Georgia Cancer Registry spanning 2010 to 2017, focused on understanding how socioeconomic factors influence health disparities.
Methodology and Findings:
The study included 36,795 women diagnosed with breast cancer, predominantly non-Hispanic White (70%) and non-Hispanic Black (30%). Researchers utilized the Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI) to quantify neighborhood characteristics such as income, education, and employment status at the Census block group level.
Among the findings:
Women residing in neighborhoods characterized by higher deprivation (NDI quintile 5) exhibited a significantly elevated risk of breast cancer mortality compared to those in less deprived areas (NDI quintile 1).
Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) revealed a 90% higher mortality risk in the most deprived quintile (HR = 1.90), highlighting the profound impact of socioeconomic environment on health outcomes.
Interestingly, while this association was robust among non-Hispanic White women, it was not evident among non-Hispanic Black women. For White women, the adjusted HR decreased to 1.49 when accounting for race-specific factors.
Implications and Future Directions:
The study underscores the importance of addressing social determinants of health, such as neighborhood deprivation, in mitigating disparities in breast cancer outcomes. Access barriers to mammograms and healthcare services rooted in economic hardship exacerbate these disparities, particularly affecting early detection and timely treatment.
The findings suggest that while neighborhood deprivation plays a crucial role in shaping health outcomes, additional factors contributing to higher breast cancer mortality among non-Hispanic Black women necessitate further investigation. This includes exploring systemic barriers to healthcare access, racial disparities in treatment quality, and broader societal factors impacting health outcomes.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the study sheds light on the intricate relationship between neighborhood deprivation and breast cancer mortality, highlighting disparities that disproportionately affect non-Hispanic White women. Efforts to address these disparities should prioritize equitable access to healthcare services and interventions that mitigate the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on health outcomes.
