title: Socioeconomic status and lung cancer risk in Nepal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lung cancer is the most common cancer among men and the third most common cancer among women in Nepal. Socioeconomic disparities in lung cancer have not been studied in the Nepalese population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a lung cancer case-control study, including 209 cases and 313 controls at the main cancer hospital in Nepal, the B.P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital (BPKMCH).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed differences in lung cancer risk by ethnicity; the Rai, Limbu and Magar groups had a higher risk of lung cancer than Brahmin (OR=3.11, 95%CI=1.55-6.23). An inverse association was observed between education and lung cancer risk (p for trend=0.0008). We also observed greater lung cancer risk among unmarried individuals (OR=2.25, 95%CI=1.12-4.53), and lower risk in individuals who lived in the Central region compared to the West (OR=0.47, 95%CI=0.26-0.85). There were greater proportions of late stage cancers among women compared to men, in the Rai/Limbu/Magar ethnic groups, in individuals with lower education and in older age groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Disparities in lung cancer risk were observed by race/ethnicity, education, marital status, and by region of residence. Further research on socioeconomic influence on lung cancer in Nepal is warranted to develop better prevention efforts against the disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, and Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. mia.hashibe@utah.edu
authors.forename: Mia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashibe
authors.forename: Bhola
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Siwakoti
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Binay Kumar
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Thakur
authors.forename: Chin Bahadur
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Pun
authors.forename: Bhakta Man
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Burningham
authors.forename: Yuan-chin Amy
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sapkota
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors