Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Cancer risks in second-generation immigrants to Sweden

Hemminki, Kari LU and Li, Xinjun LU (2002) In International Journal of Cancer 99(2). p.37-229
Abstract

We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to analyze cancer risks in Sweden-born descendants of immigrants from European and North American countries. Our study included close to 600,000 0-66-year-old descendants of an immigrant father or mother. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 17 cancer sites using native Swedes as a reference. All cancer was marginally below the Swedish incidence in offspring of immigrant origin. Decreased SIRs were observed for breast cancer among Norwegian descendants, melanoma among descendants of Hungarian fathers and ovarian and bladder cancer among descendents of Finnish mothers, all consistent with the difference in cancer incidence between... (More)

We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to analyze cancer risks in Sweden-born descendants of immigrants from European and North American countries. Our study included close to 600,000 0-66-year-old descendants of an immigrant father or mother. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 17 cancer sites using native Swedes as a reference. All cancer was marginally below the Swedish incidence in offspring of immigrant origin. Decreased SIRs were observed for breast cancer among Norwegian descendants, melanoma among descendants of Hungarian fathers and ovarian and bladder cancer among descendents of Finnish mothers, all consistent with the difference in cancer incidence between Swedes and the indigenous populations. Cervical cancer was increased in daughters of Danish men, whereas thyroid cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were in excess in offspring of parents of Yugoslav and Asian descent. Even these results agreed with the high incidence rates in parents compared to Swedes, except that for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma other explanations are needed; these may be related to immune malfunction. Comparison of the results between the first- and the second-generation immigrants suggest that the first 2 decades of life are important in setting the pattern for cancer development in subsequent life. Birth in Sweden sets the Swedish pattern for cancer incidence, irrespective of the nationality of descent, while entering Sweden in the 20s is already too late to influence the environmentally imprinted program for the cancer destiny.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Asia/ethnology, Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology, Child, Child, Preschool, Databases as Topic, Emigration and Immigration, Europe/ethnology, Female, Germany/ethnology, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Melanoma/epidemiology, Middle Aged, North America/ethnology, Registries, Risk Factors, Scandinavian and Nordic Countries/ethnology, Sex Characteristics, Sweden/epidemiology, Testicular Neoplasms/epidemiology, Thyroid Neoplasms/epidemiology, Time Factors, Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/epidemiology, Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/epidemiology, Yugoslavia/ethnology
in
International Journal of Cancer
volume
99
issue
2
pages
9 pages
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:0037052643
  • pmid:11979438
ISSN
0020-7136
DOI
10.1002/ijc.10323
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
6987f13e-f2e5-47f9-a2d8-baa0b23605ef
date added to LUP
2019-01-30 11:59:54
date last changed
2024-03-02 18:52:14
@article{6987f13e-f2e5-47f9-a2d8-baa0b23605ef,
  abstract     = {{<p>We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to analyze cancer risks in Sweden-born descendants of immigrants from European and North American countries. Our study included close to 600,000 0-66-year-old descendants of an immigrant father or mother. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 17 cancer sites using native Swedes as a reference. All cancer was marginally below the Swedish incidence in offspring of immigrant origin. Decreased SIRs were observed for breast cancer among Norwegian descendants, melanoma among descendants of Hungarian fathers and ovarian and bladder cancer among descendents of Finnish mothers, all consistent with the difference in cancer incidence between Swedes and the indigenous populations. Cervical cancer was increased in daughters of Danish men, whereas thyroid cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were in excess in offspring of parents of Yugoslav and Asian descent. Even these results agreed with the high incidence rates in parents compared to Swedes, except that for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma other explanations are needed; these may be related to immune malfunction. Comparison of the results between the first- and the second-generation immigrants suggest that the first 2 decades of life are important in setting the pattern for cancer development in subsequent life. Birth in Sweden sets the Swedish pattern for cancer incidence, irrespective of the nationality of descent, while entering Sweden in the 20s is already too late to influence the environmentally imprinted program for the cancer destiny.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hemminki, Kari and Li, Xinjun}},
  issn         = {{0020-7136}},
  keywords     = {{Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Asia/ethnology; Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Databases as Topic; Emigration and Immigration; Europe/ethnology; Female; Germany/ethnology; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Melanoma/epidemiology; Middle Aged; North America/ethnology; Registries; Risk Factors; Scandinavian and Nordic Countries/ethnology; Sex Characteristics; Sweden/epidemiology; Testicular Neoplasms/epidemiology; Thyroid Neoplasms/epidemiology; Time Factors; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/epidemiology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/epidemiology; Yugoslavia/ethnology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{37--229}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Cancer}},
  title        = {{Cancer risks in second-generation immigrants to Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijc.10323}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ijc.10323}},
  volume       = {{99}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}