Incidence and associated risk factors for cancer among immigrants: Major Challenges for Norway
Rapport
|Oppdatert
There is substantial variation in incidence rates across countries and ethnic groups within countries. In general, when immigrants move from a low-risk to a high-risk country, their risk of cancer increases and it starts to converge with the cancer rate in the host country. However, there are some types of cancers that have a high incidence rate in the country of origin, and immigrants may bring this high-risk with them.
Last ned
Hovedbudskap
The incidence of cancer among immigrants in Norway is currently unknown and we have no means for monitoring rates systematically. It is important that the Norwegian health authorities alter legislation to make data on cancer occurrence readily available. It is also important to provide funding for research on how to prevent cancer in these groups.
The specific groups and the specific exposures and types of cancers in these groups that should be targeted are:
- High prevalence of smoking and ultimately lung cancer among specific immigrant groups.
- Early onset breast cancer among immigrant women from certain Middle Eastern and certain African countries
- Prostate cancer among immigrants from certain African countries x Norwegian physicians should be aware of the high rates of cervical, gastric, and liver cancer among immigrants from the middle eastern and northern parts of Africa, as well as immigrant groups from South and South-East Asia 10
- Immigrant groups should be encouraged to start following the Norwegian screening guidelines as soon as they arrive The fact that several lifestyle related cancers occur at a lower rate among immigrant groups gives us the potential for preventing these cancers in these groups. However, in order to do so there is a strong need for lifestyle changes and preventive measures to avoid the incidence rates from converging towards that of the new host population.
Dette er en rapport fra Nasjonalt kompetansesenter for migrasjons- og minoritetshelse (NAKMI). NAKMI ble en del av Folkehelseinstituttet 01.01.2018.
