This article is from WeChat public account: Pineapple factor (ID: checkpoint_1) , of: pineapple, from FIG title: IC photo
One
Longevity is one of the biggest risk factors for cancer. If you rank life expectancy and cancer incidence in every country in the world, you will find that the two numbers are very relevant. The incidence of cancer tends to be higher if you live longer.
Australians live a long life and have the highest cancer incidence rate; Chad, the other extreme, has a life expectancy of less than 54 years, and the incidence of cancer is basically the lowest.
China, both rankings are in the middle.
But some countries are weird. Their life expectancy is not long, but the incidence of cancer is particularly high. These are the countries in the red box below.
Obviously, in addition to longevity, there are other significant carcinogenic factors in these countries, including genes, environment, and lifestyle.
Researching the cause of their high incidence is very meaningful to help us prevent cancer ourselves.
The most typical is Hungary: the average life expectancy is only 75.9, ranking 55th in the world, but the fourth highest incidence of cancer!
In contrast, the average life expectancy in China is 76.1, which is slightly higher than that in Hungary, but the incidence of cancer is only 52.
For every 100,000 people, China has 301 cancer patients, while Hungary has 727! More than twice that of China!
If you look at a country with a similar life expectancy as Hungary, you will find that its cancer incidence is really “excellent.”
Second
Why are there so many cancers in Hungary?
There are many reasons, one of which is: Very many lung cancers!
Looking at the total number, China ranks first in lung cancer. But in terms of population, Hungary has the highest incidence of lung cancer in the world.
Hungarian also has a feature that there are very many lung cancers for men and women!
Hungarian men have the highest incidence of lung cancer in the world, with 77 out of 100,000 people.
Hungarian women have the highest incidence of lung cancer in the world, with 41 out of 100,000 people.
The most exaggerated picture is the following picture of lung cancer in women. Everyone can see that there is a particularly “black” country in central Europe, which stands out, and that is Hungary!
So why is there so much lung cancer in Hungary?
Two important reasons, One is smoking more, and the other is poor environment.
Hungarians, men and women, smoke a lot! 47% of men and 21% of women in Hungary smoke, one of the highest places in the world.
In contrast, only 2% of Chinese women smoke. Please keep this good habit.
Smoking is not the only reason for the high incidence of lung cancer. Hungary also has another great risk of lung cancer, which is pollution in the working environment, especially asbestos.
Hungarian workers are not adequately protected. Many occupations, including construction workers and car repairers, are easily exposed to materials containing carcinogens such as asbestos. This not only brings a lot of lung cancer, but also a lot of mesothelioma. This type of cancer is called “asbestos cancer”, because many of the cells in the body become cancerous because of the inhalation of asbestos.
It is estimated that 20% of Hungarian workers are chronically exposed to toxic chemicals.
Three
Hungary is nothing more than a representative. If you look closely at the other countries in the red circle, you will find that they are all Eastern European countries !
Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Moldova …
Looking ahead, a lot of Eastern European countries have low life expectancy, but many cancers.
Their per capita life rankings are in the middle and lower reaches of the world, and they are not as good as China. For example, Russia has a life expectancy of only 70, which is about the same as Iraq.
So, is Eastern Europe really stingy? Why so many cancers?
One of the main reasons is bad living habits, especially a lot of smoke and a lot of alcohol .
As mentioned earlier, Hungarians smoke particularly hard. In fact, these Eastern European countries are almost the same. Not surprisingly, all countries in Eastern Europe are high incidence areas of lung cancer, especially men.
Because of poor tobacco control, lung cancer morbidity and mortality have continued to rise in the past decades in many countries in Eastern Europe.
Smoking not only brings lung cancer, but also brings more than 10 other cancers, especially bladder cancer and head and neck cancer. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 40% of cancers in the United States are related to smoking. As long as the carcinogens in tobacco can reachThe cells are all dangerous.
Almost all cancers closely related to smoking are high in Eastern European countries.
There is no separation between tobacco and alcohol. Eastern Europe is also the region with the strongest alcohol consumption in the world.
I believe everyone knows that Russians drink a lot, but in fact, the per capita drinking volume is only 4th. The three in front of it are all its Eastern European neighbors.
The 6 most drinking countries in the world are all from Eastern Europe!
I have written many times that any wine is a first-class carcinogen, so drinking must be suitable.
Eastern European countries have the highest rates of cancer deaths due to drinking! In these countries, at least one out of every ten men who die from cancer is drinking or drinking.
Facts speak louder than words!
If you want to live longer and not get cancer early, it is best to quit smoking and drink less.
Four
In addition to the “small environment” in which individuals are accustomed, the “big environment” in society also has a huge impact on cancer occurrence.
Greater RingThe environment includes not only the direct factor of air pollution, but also the economic, cultural, and cultural environment.
The most typical example is the neighbouring countries of Austria and Hungary.
In history, the people in this place have many similarities. Even more than 100 years ago, the two countries were still a family. They belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and they broke up after the First World War in 1918 and separated.
But now, Austrians live much longer than Hungarians, and the incidence of cancer is much lower.
If you look at the time course of cancer mortality, there are even more striking differences.
Before 1970, the cancer incidence and mortality rates in these two countries were very close, but then the opposite trend appeared.
In Austria, the mortality rate is getting lower and lower, while in Hungary the exact opposite is the case.
Why is this happening?
The disparity in economic levels is an important reason.
Since 1955, Austria and Hungary have embarked on very different political systems and development paths. At present, Austria is a highly developed country with a per capita GDP of more than 50,000 US dollars, while Hungary’s per capita GDP is only a quarter of Austria.
Different economic levels and living pressures not only make the working environment in Hungary more polluted and the medical level worse, but also bring about worse living habits, including smoking, drinking, and unhealthy eating.
All of these will increas the incidence and mortality of cancer, but also reduce life expectancy .
Hungary is just a microcosm, with similar problems across Eastern Europe. After 1950, dramatic political and economic changes occurred in many countries in Eastern Europe. Along with this, overall health levels plummeted: cardiovascular disease increased, cancer increased, and average life expectancy decreased.
So, to fight cancer, not only does everyone need to work for themselves, but we also need to work together for the development of the country as a whole.
Behind the high incidence of cancer in Eastern European countries, there may be other factors worthy of further exploration. Whatever it is, it will have a great guiding role for China’s future anti-cancer cause.
Recent research has found that nearly half of cancers in China are caused by avoidable factors.
I hope that the country will continue to develop and provide a good environment for each citizen. At the same time, we hope that everyone can master the necessary anti-cancer knowledge, try to avoid risks, and not waste the longevity opportunities given to us by modern medicine.
I wish you all health! Tribute to life!
References:
1. Role of occupational asbestos exposure in Hungarian lung cancer patients. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2000, 73, 8, 555–560 span>
2. Asbestos and cancer: an overview of current trends in Europe. Environ Health Perspect 1999. 107 (suppl 2): 289–98.
3. Cancer Incidence and mortality in Europe, 2006. Ann Oncol. 2007; 1618: 581–92.
Cancer mortality in central–eastern Europe: facts behind the figures
4. Cancer epidemiology in Central, South and Eastern European countries. Croat Med J. 2011; 52 (4): 478–487. doi: 10.3325 / cmj.2011.52.478
5. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/tobacco/index.htm
6. Cancer statistics in China, 2015. CA Cancer J Clin. 2016 Mar-Apr; 66 (2): 115-32.
This article is from WeChat public account: Pineapple factor (ID: checkpoint_1) , Author: Pineapple