A Comparative Study of Spatial Distribution of Gastrointestinal Cancers in Poverty and Affluent Strata (Kermanshah Metropolis, Iran).

INTRODUCTION: The trend of cancers has witnessed a twofold rise in the last three decades, which is expected to be fivefold by 2030. On the other hand, gastrointestinal cancers have turned into one of the health issues in many societies. Given the presence of gastrointestinal cancer hot spots and evidence of health inequalities across Kermanshah Metropolis and the results of studies signaling the association between gastrointestinal cancers and socioeconomic status of individuals as well as evidence of unequal socioeconomic opportunities in this metropolis, the present study aimed to investigate the spatial distribution of gastrointestinal cancers in the poverty and affluent strata of Kermanshah Metropolis, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical study, the recorded data of patients, suffering from gastrointestinal cancers, in Kermanshah-based Pathology Centers and Vice Chancellery of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (2007-2012) were used. Moreover, to examine the status of gastrointestinal cancers in socioeconomic classes based on the census data collected during 2007-2012, 33 social, cultural, and structural indexes were extracted from the statistical blocks. Additionally, for data analysis and factor analysis, Kruskal-Wallis Test in the environment of SPSS and kernel density estimation (KDE) and Moran's I tests in the GIS environment were employed. FINDINGS: The results of the present study revealed that the distribution of poverty (Z score = 48.916518, p value = 0.000000) and affluent strata (Z score = 14.345028, p value = 0.000000) followed clustered patterns (p < 0.01). Additionally, the results indicated that the spatial distribution pattern of the upper gastrointestinal cancer was clustered (Z score = 1.896996, p value = 0.007828), whereas the spatial distribution pattern of the lower gastrointestinal cancer was inclined to a randomized clustered pattern (Z score = 1.338121, p value = 0.000857) (p < 0.01). Finally, seven main hot spots were identified from the poverty stratum in Kermanshah, which perfectly overlapped the hot spots of upper gastrointestinal cancer. Similarly, four main hot spots were identified from the affluent stratum in Kermanshah, which overlapped the hot spots of lower gastrointestinal cancer. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis Test demonstrated that the poverty and affluent strata were significantly different from each other in terms of gastrointestinal cancer: upper gastrointestinal cancer (p < 0.05 and X2=10.064) and lower gastrointestinal cancer (p < 0.05 and X2=10.253). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that the ratio of patients with lower gastrointestinal cancers was higher than the incidence of upper gastrointestinal cancers over the 5-year period under study. Moreover, in Kermanshah Metropolis, there was a significant difference between the upper gastrointestinal cancer in the poverty stratum and the lower gastrointestinal cancer in the affluent stratum. Hence, it is suggested that GIS be applied as a tool for identifying the patterns of effective factors of this type of cancer in each social class, and it is recommended that some effective policies be presented and adopted by health managers according to the role and importance of socioeconomic, environmental, and nutritional factors in the poverty and affluent strata of society, and people at risk be equipped with preventive training programs in this respect.