A new study released by ACS researchers shows disparities in mortality from 10 leading causes of death by county-level poverty widened during the past three decades in the United States.
“There hasn’t been a lot of investigation about the progress in cause-specific mortality across US counties by socio-economic status,” said Dr. Daniel Wiese, principal scientist, cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. “The good news is we discovered we’re making headway against mortality for people affected by health disparities in this country concerning many diseases like heart disease, cancer, and influenza, but we still have a long way to go for many others.”
“This research highlights the pressing need for Congress and state lawmakers to prioritize policies that make health care affordable for everyone,” said Lisa A. Lacasse, president of ACS’s advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “We urge Congress to support the Medicaid program and the 10 states that have yet to increase Medicaid eligibility to act quickly.”
Other ACS researchers contributing to the study include Dr. Hyuna Sung, Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, and senior author Dr. Farhad Islami.
Like and share this news on X.