Investigation of cancer mortality inequalities between rural and urban areas in South Korea

Objective Little is known about rural–urban cancer disparities, particularly in South Korea, and this study is to identify cancer-specific mortality inequalities between the rural and urban areas of the country. Design, setting, and participants For 11 specific cancer sites, age-standardised mortality rates were analysed for the rural and urban administrative districts of South Korea during 2006–2011. Main outcome measures The Poisson log linear regression models were employed to estimate cancer-specific mortality rates, and Bonferroni comparison method was used to identify rural–urban disparities. Results There were significant rural–urban disparities observed for all cancer sites except prostate, pancreas and leukaemia. The mortality rates of lung, liver and stomach cancers, the three most common cancers in the country, were observed to be significantly higher in rural areas than in metropolitan areas. In contrast, the reverse relationship was observed for the reproductive system (breast and uterus) and colon cancers. Central nervous system cancer mortality was observed to be significantly higher in rural areas than in non-metro urban areas. Conclusions For the first time ever, significant rural–urban disparity patterns in cancer mortality rates in South Korea have been identified in this paper. Future investigations on cancer risk factors for the country should address these disparity patterns.