Migration may increase the risk of cancer, which is a concern for many people. Understanding how migration affects cancer rates is challenging because several factors come into play. These consist of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle modifications.
This blog post, “Assessing the Role of Migration in Cancer Risk Factors” explores the potential impact of relocation on cancer risk. It summarizes research studies and reports on this topic.
Understanding the Migration-Cancer Link
- Cancer Incidence Variability
Studies found that cancer incidences differ with specific types of people depending on their habitat and the activities they engage in. For example, studies have shown that individuals who have relocated from regions having low incidences of cancer to areas with high incidences of cancer are at higher risk of developing cancer. This shift happens because their lifestyle and environmental factors change after they move. Recent studies highlight that when migrants settle in areas with higher or lower cancer risks, their cancer rates tend to change to match those of the new country within one or two generations.
- The Healthy Migrant Effect
Notably, several researchers have pointed out that immigrants receive a relatively lower rate of cancer than that of the host country during the first few years, caused by what is called the healthy migrant effect. This idea predicts that healthier people have higher migratory propensities and, consequently, cancer rates at the start of this procedure are lower among the populations of such regions. For instance, many people who come from less developed countries have a relatively low risk of developing many cancers on arrival in developed Australia. Nevertheless, if time goes on and specific changes in the lifestyle happen – such as increased smoking rate or changes in diet, etc – these rates can approach the rates in the host population.
Specific Cancers and Migration Patterns
- Stomach and Liver Cancers
Studies on particular kinds of cancer show different characteristics regarding migration groups. For example, in a longitudinal survey observing cancer rates in migrants in Australia, it was identified that migrants who come from regions with high cancer were hospitalized with Stomach and Liver cancer diseases more than migrants from areas with low incidence rates.
This study found that South American migrants are 2.35 times more likely to get stomach cancer than people born in Australia. Similarly, Vietnamese migrants have a 5.44 times greater risk of liver cancer. These results show the importance of considering the cultural and environmental backgrounds of migrants.
- Breast and Lung Cancers
On the other hand, breast cancer incidence among migrant women depends on their country of origin and ranges. It may also be seen that specific migrant populations actually have lower rates of breast cancer than the native population and that this can be partially attributed to a) reproductive factors and/or b) lifestyle parameters.
Lung cancer is a severe issue for immigrants, especially those from countries with high smoking rates. Studies show that smoking habits often stay the same after people move, which increases the risk of lung cancer over time.
Factors Influencing Cancer Risk Among Migrants
Several vital factors significantly influence the evolving landscape of cancer risk among migrant populations:
- Lifestyle Changes: Migration is known to prompt drastic changes such as changes in food habits, less physical activity, and alterations in smoking. Such changes can affect cancer risk rates themselves.
- Environmental Exposures: New environmental carcinogens in host countries may affect migrants differently, altering their risks of most cancers.
- Access to Healthcare: Inequities in health service use can affect how cancers are diagnosed and treated among migrants. People from certain ethnic groups may live in their new country for many years before they can access timely healthcare. Because of this delay, they may be diagnosed with advanced cancer stages compared to native populations.
- Cultural Beliefs and Practices: Immigrants may face different views on health and eating habits that can affect their chances of getting cancer. For example, people might replace their local foods and drinks with processed foods, which can increase the risk of obesity-related cancers.
Conclusion
The link between migration and cancer occurrence is complex and depends on many factors, from a person’s behavior to the environment. For this reason, while some migrant groups may, for one or two generations, have less of a cancer incidence than the general population, over time, they seem to mature into having a high incidence of cancer, probably due to having adopted a different lifestyle in the high incidence countries. Knowledge of these trends is essential to public health efforts targeted at decreasing the gap in cancer incidence among migrant groups.
Subsequent studies should also examine these trends further by specifying the kinds of cancers and risk factors of various migrant groups and examining another form of migration and mobility within the region. In this way, we can be more informative regarding prevention management and health services to develop suitable interventions for such groups of people.
Migration has a significant impact on cancer risk. This impact depends on various important factors for developing effective public health policies.