Those who died due to the crisis
Economic problems increase cancer deaths
Sergey Syrov, XXII CENTURY
The global economic crisis of 2008-2010 and the resulting increase in unemployment are associated with an increase in cancer mortality by more than 260,000 cases, including cancer that can be treated. This conclusion was reached by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Imperial College London and Oxford University, who prepared a report for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The researchers found that the increase in cancer mortality was less in countries where compulsory health insurance programs operate. In the same countries, there is an increase in public spending on health care during the study period.
An article about the study was published on May 25, 2016 in The Lancet (Maruthappu et al., Economic downturns, universal health coverage, and cancer mortality in high-income and middle-income countries, 1990-2010: a longitudinal analysis).
"The increase in unemployment due to the economic crisis and austerity measures are associated with an increase in the number of deaths from cancer. Universal health coverage prevents these deaths. All these senseless deaths are a big public problem," says Rifat Atun, senior author of the study, professor at the Harvard School of Public Health (in a press release, Global economic downturn linked with at least 260,000 excess cancer deaths). He added that the increase in unemployment during the economic crisis reduces the ability of people to receive quality medical care, which leads to diagnosis at a late stage of the disease and insufficient or untimely treatment.
"Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, so understanding how economic changes affect cancer survival is crucial," says Mahiben Maruthappu, lead author of the study from Imperial College in London, UK. "We also found that health care costs are closely related to cancer mortality rates, so reducing health care costs can take lives."
Previous studies have shown that there is a link between economic changes and suicides, cardiovascular diseases and the overall mortality rate, but the relationship between the economic downturn and the fight against cancer, especially in countries with underdeveloped social protection and health systems, has been poorly studied.
The researchers analyzed the relationship between unemployment, public health spending and cancer mortality using information from more than seventy countries between 1990 and 2010. These are countries with a high and average standard of living, in which about 2 billion people live. The researchers examined the survival rate for both those cancers for which the survival rate exceeds 50% (including breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men and rectal cancer in both men and women) and those diseases that are almost untreatable (with a five-year survival rate of less than 5%), including lung cancer and pancreatic cancer in men and women.
The researchers found that an increase in the unemployment rate is associated with an increase in mortality from all types of cancer included in the study. The association was most noticeable for the types of cancer that could be treated. This suggests that the lack of access to medical care may be a factor in the increase in mortality. A comparison of the forecast for cancer–related losses and the real state of affairs in the period from 2008 to 2010 suggests that the global economic crisis in only 35 OECD member States caused 260,000 deaths that could have been prevented.
The study shows that adverse health effects persist for several years after the initial increase in unemployment. In addition, the increase in cancer deaths in middle-income countries has become a more serious problem than in high-income countries.
In countries with mandatory universal state health insurance, in which more than 90% of the population have access to qualified medical care, there is no connection between an increase in unemployment and an increase in mortality. Thus, the availability of medical care plays a key role in solving the problem.
The researchers also found that increased government spending on health mitigates the negative effects of rising unemployment on public health.
It is noted that the study was not truly global, as data on the situation in China, India and many low-income countries are not available. The design of the study does not allow us to unambiguously judge the presence of a causal relationship between the increase in unemployment and cancer mortality, as well as the mechanism of this relationship.
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01.06.2016