Distribution of socioeconomic factors among the new patients of skin cancer in Iran

Background: The global burden of cancer due to population growth and aging and various environmental factors is increasing. Skin cancer is the most common cancer among Iranians, especially in men. There is strong evidence from both industrialized and less developed countries that cancer incidence and survival is related to socioeconomic factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the distribution of socioeconomic factors including Human Development Index (HDI), unemployment rate, and urbanization ratio among new patients of skin cancer in Iran. Methods: The data was extracted from a longitudinal database of 30 provinces of the country from 2007 to 2012. The database was part of cancer registry of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. There were 180 new cases of skin cancer, which were selected for the study. Socioeconomic data were collected from the Statistical Center of Iran, which included variables including HDI, urbanization ratio, and unemployment rate. For data analysis StataCorp. 2009. Stata Statistical Software: Release 11. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP., was used. Results: The average number of skin cancer cases with a mean±SD of 20.2±10.19 was higher in men than in women (14.6±7.45). The maximum number of skin cancer cases in men and women belonged to Isfahan Province (32.9) and Yazd Province (23.9), respectively. The fixed effect model showed that each year, the risk of skin cancer increases 20% in men and 19% in females (P 0.05). It also showed that urbanization rate and Log HDI were independent predictors of skin cancer in both genders (female: urbanization rate OR=-1.32, Log HDI OR=-3.04) (male: urbanization rate OR=-1.19, Log HDI OR=-3.33). Conclusion: These findings suggest the independent role of HID and urbanization as two concepts of social determinants of health, on the number of skin cancer cases.