Year: 2004
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Decades ago, cervical cancer was the leading form of cancer among women in both North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Currently, cervical cancer rates are considerably lower in the northern region of the country. We performed a case-control study to measure factors associated with the development of cervical cancer among Vietnamese women. Questionnaire-based interviews were conducted with 202 women in southern Vietnam and 97 women in northern Vietnam. Case subjects were women hospitalized with cervical cancer. Control subjects were women hospitalized with extrauterine neoplasms. Data were analyzed using logistic regression, and odds ratios for the development of invasive cervical cancer were measured. The development of invasive cervical cancer was significantly associated with military service by husbands during the Second Indochinese War and with parity status. Odds ratio for the development of cervical cancer among southern Vietnamese women whose husbands had served in the armed forces was 2.6 (95% CI = 1.2-5.5). Odds ratio for the development of cervical cancer among northern women whose husbands had served in the armed forces was 3.9 (95% CI = 1.5-10.4) if their husbands had been stationed in South Vietnam during the war years. Northern women whose husbands had served in the military experienced no significant increase in cervical cancer risk if their husbands had been stationed in North Vietnam during the war years. Geographic and temporal variation in cervical cancer rates among Vietnamese women was associated with the movement of soldiers. These findings may be useful for cervical cancer prevention efforts in Vietnam and in other countries.
Source: International Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.1002/ijc.20164
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2051212104