Social gradient and rural-urban disparities in cancer mortality in Costa Rica.

Introduction: Data on social inequalities in cancer mortality are sparse, especially in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to analyze the socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality in Costa Rica between 2010 and 2018.

Methods: We linked 9-years of data from the National Electoral Rolls, National Birth Index and National Death Index to classify deaths due to cancer and socioeconomic characteristics of the district of residence, as measured by levels of urbanicity and wealth. We analyzed the fifteen most frequent cancer sites in Costa Rica among the 2.7 million inhabitants aged 20 years and older. We used a parametric survival model based on a Gompertz distribution.

Results: Compared to urban areas, mixed and rural area residents had lower mortality from pancreas, lung, breast, prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers, and higher mortality from stomach cancer. Mortality from stomach, lung and cervical cancer was higher, and mortality from colorectal cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia was lower in the most disadvantaged districts, compared to the wealthiest ones.

Conclusion: We observed marked disparities in cancer mortality in Costa Rica in particular from infection- and lifestyle- related cancers. There are important opportunities to reduce disparities in cancer mortality by targeting cancer prevention, early detection and opportune treatment, mainly in urban and disadvantaged districts.