Country-level correlates of cervical cancer mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean.
OBJECTIVE
To identify country-level correlates of geographical variations in cervical cancer (CC) mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).


METHODS
CC mortality rates for LAC countries (n=26) were examined in relation to country-specific socio-economic indicators (n=58) and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) prevalence using linear regression models.


RESULTS
High mortality at ages <5 years, low per capita total expenditure on health, and low proportion of the population with access to sanitation were identified as the best independent predictors of CC mortality (R² =77%). In the subset of countries (n=10) with HPV prevalence estimates, these socio-economic indicators together with high-risk HPV prevalence explained almost all the between-country variability in CC mortality (R² =98%).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that continuing socioeconomic improvements in LAC countries will be associated with further reductions in CC mortality even in the absence of organised population-based screening and vaccination programmes.
Unidad de Epidemiología Nutricional y Genética, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Ana
A
Pereira-Scalabrino
Maribel
M
Almonte
Isabel
I
Dos-Santos-Silva
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000821:virology; D055815:Young Adult