Categorizing Latinos as one homogeneous group might lead researchers to overlook differences based on ethnicity, nationality or socioeconomic background, according to a recent study in Current Epidemiology Reports. By analyzing cancer incidence rates for different Latino subgroups, the researchers hoped to provide insight into different risk factors.
Here's what you need to know:
1. Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in both Latino men and women, with an estimated total of 11,700 new cases and 3,800 deaths in 2015.
2. Mexican Latinos have the greatest proportion of colorectal cancer incidence when compared with other Latino subgroups and when compared with non-Hispanic whites, suggesting the long-term effect of national origin.
3. The researchers found that incidence rates were higher among Latinos with high socioeconomic status, when compared with Latinos with low socioeconomic status.
4. Mexican and Cuban Latinos living in Florida had higher incidence rates than those living in their countries of origin. A separate study also found that Puerto Ricans living in the United States had higher incidence rates than those living in Puerto Rico.
5. These findings suggest "that as Latinos acquire higher SES and assimilate to the US lifestyle, they may acquire additional risk factors that increase their CRC risk," according to the researchers.