Younger people are more likely to develop cancer than previous generations, underscoring elevated risks in childhood and young adulthood, according to new US research.
Millennials and Generation X are more likely to develop 17 types of cancer than previous generations, according to a new study published in the journal ‘Lancet Public Health’ suggesting that exposure to carcinogens and other risk factors is greater today than in the past.
Researchers of the American Cancer Society (ACS) there University of Calgaryin Canada, analyzed incidence data for 34 types of cancer among almost 24 million people, and death data for 25 types of cancer for more than 7 million people, born between 1920 and 1990.
They found that the 1990 birth cohort had much higher cancer rates than previous generations, which ranged from a 12 percent higher incidence of ovarian cancer up to a 169 percent higher incidence of cancer endometrium compared to the groups with the lowest rates.
The 1990 cohort also recorded incidence rates that were two to three times higher than the 1955 cohort for cancers. small intestine, thyroid, kidney and renal pelvis, and pancreas.
While death rates decreased or stabilized for most types of cancer among younger generations, younger people had more likely to die from endometrial cancer, liver cancer, and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in women, as well as gallbladder and other biliary, testicular and colorectal cancers in men, compared to baby boomers.
Elevated rates among millennials and Generation X suggest that the cancer burden in the U.S. will keep growing“halting or reversing decades of progress against the disease,” Ahmedin Jemal, lead author of the study and senior vice president of the ACS Surveillance and Health Equity Scientific Team, said in a statement.
About 20 million people hahaha with cancer in 2022, and 9.7 million people diedaccording to global estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The most common forms are the lung cancer, breast cancer among women, the colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and stomach cancerBetween the men.
Scientists already knew that younger generations had a higher risk of some types of cancer, but the new study adds eight new types of cancer to the list: a type of stomach cancer called gastric cardia cancer, small intestine cancer, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer in women, non-HPV-associated cancer of the mouth and pharynx in women, anal cancer in men, and Kaposi sarcoma cancer in men.
Yes ok it is not entirely clear why Cancer levels are higher among younger generations, likely due in part to risks during childhood or early adulthood, the study authors said.
Possible culprits include exposure to pollutants and other environmental toxinsobesity, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets high in saturated fats and ultra-processed foods, and poor sleeping habits.
People born in the same generation “share unique social, economic, political and climatic environments, which affect your exposure to cancer risk factors during their crucial years of development,” Hyuna Sung, lead author of the study and senior scientist for surveillance and equity in health sciences at ACS, said in a statement.
The analysis included people in the US, so the results might not directly apply elsewhere. However, since other countries are also dealing with generational changes in environmental trends and lifestylethe findings could offer clues as researchers try to identify the underlying causes of the disease.
“The data highlights the critical need to identify and address underlying risk factors in Generation prevention strategies”, said Jemal.
