Socioeconomic inequalities in kidney and renal pelvis cancer mortality in Canada: Trends over three decades.

Abstract

Background: Kidney and renal pelvis cancer (KCa) presents significant health challenges that require investigation. This study measured and examined trends in socioeconomic inequalities in the mortality of KCa in Canada over the period 1990-2019.

Methods: We constructed a census division level dataset pooled from the Canadian Vital Death Statistics Database (CVSD), the Canadian Census of the Population (CCP), and the National Household Survey (NHS) to measure income and education inequalities in the mortality rate of KCa in Canada over the study period. The age-standardized Concentration index (C), which measures inequality across all socioeconomic groups, was used to quantify income and education inequalities in the mortality of KCa in Canada. Trend analyses evaluated changes in these inequalities over time.

Results: The average crude KCa mortality rates were found to be 5.97 and 3.40 per 100,000 for the male and female populations, respectively. The crude KCa mortality consistently increased over time in eastern but not western Canada. Statistically negative values of the age-standardized C index showed higher KCa mortality in the lower-income and less-educated population, particularly among females, with no changes observed over the 30-year study period.

Conclusion: The higher KCa mortality in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups in Canada indicates the continuing need for primary prevention through lowering smoking rates, reducing obesity, and controlling hypertension. Additionally, promoting greater use of abdominal imaging for the incidental early KCa detection can enable more effective treatment and improved survival rates, especially for females of lower socioeconomic status.