Relation of place of birth and migration in cancer mortality in the U.S. — A study of Ohio residents (1959–1967)

Abstract

The epidemiological method and findings have identified and emphasized the research potential of studying migrants within the U.S., for specific causes of death. The study has demonstrated the marked differences in cancer mortality which become manifest for the nonwhite and native-born white when resident male and female deaths of a state are subclassified by region of birth and state of residence, which would not otherwise be apparent in the comparisons by broad classifications as currently coded in vital records. The age adjusted rates for all cancers (ages 35–69) for the nonwhite males born in the South were 363.67 vs 180.43 for those born in Ohio. The same ratio among the white males born in the South was 225.73, and for those born in Ohio, 197.14. For cancer of the lung and other specific cancer sites, the nonwhite males showed a higher rate for those born in the South compared to those born in Ohio. The excess for the white males was most notable for cancer of the lung. Statistical evidence is presented for the conclusion that the observed differences in cancer mortality among the nonwhite are not due to race per se. The importance of endemic factors associated with place of birth in the U.S. and the influences of the early years of life, particularly in the South in the development of social and biological imprints, and following migration the subsequent exposure to industrial environments, has been considered.