The influence of neighborhood socioeconomic status and race on survival from ovarian cancer: a population-based analysis of Cook County, Illinois

Katherine C Brewer,Caryn E Peterson,Faith G Davis,Kent Hoskins,Heather Pauls,Charlotte E Joslin

doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2015.03.021

Katherine C Brewer, Caryn E Peterson + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2015.03.021

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Abstract

PurposeDespite significant improvements in treatment for ovarian cancer, survival is poorer for non-Hispanic black (NHB) women compared to non-Hispanic white (NHW) women. Neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been implicated in racial disparities across a variety of health outcomes and may similarly contribute to racial disparities in ovarian cancer survival. The purpose of this analysis is to assess the influence of neighborhood SES on NHB-NHW survival differences after accounting for differences in tumor characteristics and in treatment. MethodsData were obtained from 2432 women (443 NHB and 1989 NHW) diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer in Cook County, Illinois between 1998 and 2007. Neighborhood (i.e., census tract) SES at the time of diagnosis was calculated for each woman using two well-established composite measures of affluence and disadvantage. Cox proportional hazard models measured the association between NHB race and survival after adjusting for age, tumor characteristics, treatment, year of diagnosis, and neighborhood SES. ResultsThere was a strong association between ovarian cancer survival and both measures of neighborhood SES (P < .0001 for both affluence and disadvantage). After adjusting for age, tumor characteristics, treatment, and year of diagnosis, NHB were more likely than NHW to die of ovarian cancer (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28–1.68). The inclusion of neighborhood affluence and disadvantage into models separately and together attenuated this risk (HRaffluence = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.18–1.58; HRdisadvantage = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.08–1.52; and HRaffluence + disadvantage = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.08–1.52. ConclusionsNeighborhood SES, as measured by composite measures of affluence and disadvantage, is a predictor of survival in women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Cook County, Illinois and may contribute to the racial disparity in survival.

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