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Epidemiology

Neighbourhood social deprivation and risk of prostate cancer

British Journal of Cancer volume 129, pages 335–345 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Background

Striking geographic variations in prostate cancer incidence suggest an aetiological role for spatially-distributed factors. We assessed whether neighbourhood social deprivation, which can reflect limited social contacts, unfavourable lifestyle and environmental exposures, is associated with prostate cancer risk.

Methods

In 2005–2012, we recruited 1931 incident prostate cancer cases and 1994 controls in a case–control study in Montreal, Canada. Lifetime residential addresses were linked to an area-based social deprivation index around recruitment (2006) and about 10 years earlier (1996). Logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

Men residing in areas characterised by greater social deprivation had elevated prostate cancer risks (ORs of 1.54 and 1.60 for recent and past exposures, respectively; highest vs lowest quintiles), independently from area- and individual-level confounders and screening patterns. The increase in risk with recent high social deprivation was particularly elevated for high-grade prostate cancer at diagnosis (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.32–2.64). Associations were more pronounced for neighbourhoods with higher proportions of separated/divorced or widowed individuals in the past, and with higher percentages of residents living alone recently.

Conclusions

These novel findings, suggesting that neighbourhood-level social deprivation increases the risk of prostate cancer, point out to potential targeted public health interventions.

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Fig. 1: Collection and geocoding of residential addresses.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author, in keeping with ethics regulations. The data are not publicly available for confidentiality reasons.

Code availability

Code is available from the authors upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all members of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit at INRS-Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie who were involved in the conduct of the study. In particular, we want to highlight the contribution of Hughes Richard in the preparation of the databases. We also thank the urologists from the participating hospitals for their collaboration in patients’ access.

Funding

This work was supported financially by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (grant CCP-155423) and the Canadian Cancer Society (grant 705562). CS held doctoral training awards from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité d’épidémiologie et de biostatistique, Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Université du Québec, 531 Boulevard des Prairies, Laval, QC, H7V 1B7, Canada

    Charlotte Salmon & Marie-Élise Parent

  2. Department of Sociology, McGill University, 3460 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E6, Canada

    Amélie Quesnel-Vallée

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada

    Amélie Quesnel-Vallée & Andrea Benedetti

  4. Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, 5858 Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, QC, H3S 1Z1, Canada

    Tracie A. Barnett

  5. Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, 5252 Maisonneuve Boulevard, Montreal, QC, H4A 3S5, Canada

    Andrea Benedetti

  6. Centre Urbanisation Culture Société, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Université du Québec, 385 Sherbrooke Street East, Montreal, QC, H2X 1E3, Canada

    Marie-Soleil Cloutier

  7. Department of Medicine and Cancer Research Center for Health Equity, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Geetanjali D. Datta

  8. Département de médecine sociale et préventive, École de santé publique, Université de Montréal, 7101 Avenue du Parc, Montreal, QC, H3N 1X9, Canada

    Geetanjali D. Datta, Yan Kestens & Marie-Élise Parent

  9. Centre de recherche en santé publique, 7101 Avenue du Parc, Montreal, QC, H3N 1X9, Canada

    Geetanjali D. Datta & Yan Kestens

  10. Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada

    Belinda Nicolau

  11. Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, 850 rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada

    Marie-Élise Parent

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  1. Charlotte Salmon
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Contributions

CS conducted the analysis, interpreted the results and prepared the manuscript. M-EP supervised the work, designed and conducted the PROtEuS study and reviewed the manuscript. All authors participated in the interpretation of data and have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie-Élise Parent.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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All individual studies were approved by local ethics committees and adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Salmon, C., Quesnel-Vallée, A., Barnett, T.A. et al. Neighbourhood social deprivation and risk of prostate cancer. Br J Cancer 129, 335–345 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-023-02299-7

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