Lifestyle, social habits linked to high Inuit cancer rates

Inuit are developing cancer at rates much higher than those found among southern Canadians.

A mix of smoking, binge drinking and the lack of screening among Inuit may be responsible for this difference, says a new research study from the journal Social Science and Medicine.

But social pressure may also be pushing up these high cancer rates, the researchers suggest.

After looking at health statistics from the four Inuit regions in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut, researchers conclude that health-damaging behaviours may also be related to social networks in Inuit communities.

Social networks “might exert pressures to conform to certain behaviours, like smoking” and discouraging the use of preventative health services that are available.

If public health officials want to tackle issues like smoking or drinking, they need to consider these along with other health, economic and social policies, the study said.

“High smoking rates and other behaviours may be a manifestation of deeper problems such as loss of traditional lifestyle that are also driving other negative outcomes of great concern in Inuit communities such as substance abuse, suicides and injuries,” conclude the researchers.

Cancer has been increasing among Inuit men and women across all circumpolar regions, with increases in cancers of the lung, breast, colon and cervix, notes their paper, entitled “Cancer-related health behaviours and health service use among Inuit and other residents of Canada’s North.”

Cancer causes “significant challenges” because it means many Inuit families are separated from their family and community for long periods, it says.

The incidence of lung cancer is particularly high for both Inuit men and women in Nunavut, say the researchers: men have lung cancer rates 3.2 the national average for Canadian men, and women show rates 5.3 times the national average for Canadian women.

About two in three adult Inuit say they smoke daily, a much higher percentage than among any other group in Canada.

This is combined with higher-than-average rates for obesity and binge drinking, geographical isolation and a lower use of cancer screening, even when it’s available.

Many are less likely to see a doctor because 40 per cent of Inuit live more than 400 km away from a hospital, the study says.

Education was found to improve results: Inuit with higher education smoke less, are less likely to be obese and more likely to see doctors.