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Cancer in the Minnesota Hmong population
Author(s) -
Ross Julie A.,
Xie Yang,
Kiffmeyer William R.,
Bushhouse Sally,
Robison Leslie L.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.11443
Subject(s) - medicine , population , cancer , incidence (geometry) , demography , cervical cancer , confidence interval , breast cancer , prostate cancer , gerontology , environmental health , physics , sociology , optics
BACKGROUND The Hmong are an isolated, agrarian people who settled in the mountainous regions of what today are Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. After the Vietnam War, many Hmong were relocated to the U.S. Minnesota has the second largest population (after California) of Hmong individuals. The objective of this study was to examine cancer incidence in this population, because it may indicate areas for targeted surveillance and intervention. METHODS The Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System database was screened for Hmong surnames, and proportional incidence ratios (PIRs) were calculated for the period 1988–1999. RESULTS Compared with all Minnesotans, the Hmong population had increased PIRs for nasopharyngeal cancer (PIR, 39.39; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 21.01–66.86), gastric cancer (PIR, 8.70; 95% CI, 5.39–13.25), hepatic cancer (PIR, 8.08; 95% CI, 3.88–14.71), and cervical cancer (PIR, 3.72; 95% CI, 2.04–6.20) and had decreased PIRs for prostate cancer, breast cancer, Hodgkin disease, and melanoma. CONCLUSIONS The current observations have implications for cancer control interventions. In particular, an increased incidence of cervical cancer might be addressed in part by targeting culturally sensitive screening programs in the Hmong population. Cancer 2003;97:3076–9. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11443