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Le – Department of Epidemiology, Department of Health Policy and Management, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

 

Department of Epidemiology, Department of Health Policy and Management, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (2024)

Undergraduate: Ngan Le


Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Lund
Department: Department of Epidemiology, Department of Health Policy and Management, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Background: Climate-related extreme weather events have been associated with interruptions to cancer care, impacting health outcomes across the continuum. Publicly available climate and cancer data help identify geographic areas with overlapping climate vulnerability and cancer burden._x000D_
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Objectives: Evaluate intersections between cancer burden and climate vulnerability by describing county-level cancer incidence and mortality rates according to aggregated county-level measures of climate vulnerability in NC._x000D_
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Methods: We used the county-level baseline vulnerabilities and climate change risk data from the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) and the 2017-2021 county-level cancer incidence and mortality data reported by the North Carolina (NC) Department of Health and Human Services. Counties were ranked by CVI and cancer incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 people. Overlapping county climate vulnerability and cancer burden were analyzed using Spearman’s rank (r) correlation, ratio ratios, and 95% confidence intervals._x000D_
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Results: Age-adjusted cancer incidence ranged from 261 to 535 (median = 471, IQR = 442 – 493), and mortality from 125 to 229 (median = 162, IQR = 151 – 173). A robust correction between CVI and cancer mortality (r = 0.72) revealed that climate-vulnerable communities bear a disproportionate cancer mortality burden. Across CVI quartiles, higher age-adjusted cancer mortality and incidence rates occurred in counties with higher CVI scores when stratified by cancer type in the population._x000D_
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Conclusions: Mapping cancer mortality rates to the climate hazards relevant to North Carolina can inform equitable climate preparation, mitigation, and adaptation strategies.