Work

Increased risks of type II diabetes among older Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander lung cancer survivors: a SEER-Medicare analysis

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: PURPOSE: Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (ANHPI) have a higher prevalence of type II diabetes compared to the non-Hispanic White (NHW) population. However, the incidence of type II diabetes among ANHPI lung cancer survivors is unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk of newly diagnosed type II diabetes among older ANHPI lung cancer survivors compared to older NHW lung cancer survivors. METHODS: We identified 3920 ANHPI and 11,760 NHW lung cancer survivors diagnosed from 2000 to 2017 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of type II diabetes, adjusting for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Older ANHPI lung cancer survivors had an increased risk of incident type II diabetes compared to older NHW lung cancer survivors > 1 year after cancer diagnosis. For specific ANHPI subgroups, increased risks of type II diabetes were observed among Asian Indian and Pakistani (HR, 5.14; 95% CI 2.10, 12.60) compared to NHW patients, followed by Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) (HR, 4.38; 95% CI 1.22, 15.74), Vietnamese (HR, 2.32; 95% CI 1.29, 4.18), Korean (HR, 2.26; 95% CI 1.13, 4.54), Filipino (HR, 1.78; 95% CI 1.00, 3.16), and Chinese (HR, 1.75; 95% CI 1.10, 2.79) lung cancer survivors. CONCLUSION: Older ANHPI lung cancer survivors had a higher risk of type II diabetes compared to older NHW lung cancer survivors. Further research is needed to examine the underlying causes of health disparities in diabetes risk among ANHPI lung cancer survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: These findings suggest that increasing surveillance on type II diabetes and monitoring body weight for older ANHPI lung cancer patients may be beneficial.

Source: Journal of Cancer Survivorship

DOI: 10.1007/s11764-025-01786-5

Authors: Yihang Freya Zhang, Chun-Pin Esther Chang, Thomas K. Varghese, Randa Tao, Mia Hashibe

Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles, University of Utah, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Metabolism, Diabetes, and Cancer

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,790