Spatiotemporal trends in oral cancer mortality and potential risks associated with heavy metal content in Taiwan soil
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Journal Volume
7
Journal Issue
11
Pages
3916-3928
Date Issued
2010
Author(s)
Abstract
Central and Eastern Taiwan have alarmingly high oral cancer (OC) mortality rates, however, the effect of lifestyle factors such as betel chewing cannot fully explain the observed high-risk. Elevated concentrations of heavy metals in the soil reflect somewhat the levels of exposure to the human body, which may promote cancer development in local residents. This study assesses the space-time distribution of OC mortality in Taiwan, and its association with prime factors leading to soil heavy metal content. The current research obtained OC mortality data from the Atlas of Cancer Mortality in Taiwan, 1972-2001, and derived soil heavy metals content data from a nationwide survey carried out by ROCEPA in 1985. The exploratory data analyses showed that OC mortality rates in both genders had high spatial autocorrelation (Moran's I = 0.6716 and 0.6318 for males and females). Factor analyses revealed three common factors (CFs) representing the major pattern of soil pollution in Taiwan. The results for Spatial Lag Models (SLM) showed that CF1 (Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn) was most spatially related to male OC mortality which implicates that some metals in CF1 might play as promoters in OC etiology.
Subjects
Factor analysis; Heavy metal; Oral cancer; Soil pollution; Spatial autocorrelation; Spatial regression; Spatiotemporal
SDGs
Other Subjects
chromium; copper; heavy metal; nickel; zinc; article; cancer mortality; cancer risk; chemical industry; concentration (parameters); environmental exposure; factorial analysis; geographic distribution; human; mouth cancer; regression analysis; risk assessment; risk factor; sex difference; soil pollution; Taiwan; Piper betel
Type
journal article