Biomaterial Database

Low cancer incidence rates in Ohio Amish. 2010

Judith A Westman, and Amy K Ferketich, and Ross M Kauffman, and Steven N MacEachern, and J R Wilkins, and Patricia P Wilcox, and Robert T Pilarski, and Rebecca Nagy, and Stanley Lemeshow, and Albert de la Chapelle, and Clara D Bloomfield

Division of Human Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

BACKGROUND The Amish have not been previously studied for cancer incidence, yet they have the potential to help in the understanding of its environmental and genetic contributions. The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of cancer among the largest Amish population. METHODS Adults from randomly selected households were interviewed and a detailed cancer family history was taken. Using both the household interview data and a search of the Ohio cancer registry data, a total of 191 cancer cases were identified between the years 1996 and 2003. RESULTS The age-adjusted cancer incidence rate for all cancers among the Amish adults was 60% of the age-adjusted adult rate in Ohio (389.5/10(5) vs. 646.9/10(5); p < 0.0001). The incidence rate for tobacco-related cancers in the Amish was 37% of the rate for Ohio adults (p < 0.0001). The incidence rate for non-tobacco-related cancers in the Amish was 72% of the age-adjusted adult rate in Ohio (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Cancer incidence is low in the Ohio Amish. These data strongly support reduction of cancer incidence by tobacco abstinence but cannot be explained solely on this basis. Understanding these contributions may help to identify additional important factors to target to reduce cancer among the non-Amish.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009369	Neoplasms	New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.	Benign Neoplasm,Cancer,Malignant Neoplasm,Tumor,Tumors,Benign Neoplasms,Malignancy,Malignant Neoplasms,Neoplasia,Neoplasm,Neoplasms, Benign,Cancers,Malignancies,Neoplasias,Neoplasm, Benign,Neoplasm, Malignant,Neoplasms, Malignant
D009820	Ohio	State bounded on the north by Michigan and Lake Erie, on the east by Ohio River and Pennsylvania, on the south by Ohio River, and on the west by Indiana.
D011159	Population Surveillance	Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.	Surveillance, Population
D012042	Registries	The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.	Parish Registers,Population Register,Parish Register,Population Registers,Register, Parish,Register, Population,Registers, Parish,Registers, Population,Registry
D012067	Religion	A set of beliefs concerning the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency. It usually involves devotional and ritual observances and often a moral code for the conduct of human affairs. (Random House Collegiate Dictionary, rev. ed.)	Prayer,Religious Beliefs,Religious Ethics,Beliefs, Religious,Ethic, Religious,Prayers,Religions,Religious Belief
D003466	Cultural Characteristics	Those aspects or characteristics which identify a culture.	Ethnic Boundary Maintenance,Boundary Maintenance, Ethnic,Boundary Maintenances, Ethnic,Characteristic, Cultural,Characteristics, Cultural,Cultural Characteristic,Ethnic Boundary Maintenances,Maintenance, Ethnic Boundary,Maintenances, Ethnic Boundary
D004781	Environmental Exposure	The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.	Exposure, Environmental,Environmental Exposures,Exposures, Environmental
D005260	Female		Females