Abstract

Predictors of Respiratory Cancer-Related Mortality Among Israeli Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Non-Ultra-Orthodox Jews

Ronit Pinchas-Mizrachi¹, Ayal Romem², Ephraim Shapiro³, Beth G Zalcman¹ (1)Jerusalem College of Technology, (2)Pulmonary Division, Head of IP Service, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Israel, (3)Department of Health Systems Management, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background: Respiratory cancer rates differ among demographic groups. Israel has two minority groups that are over-represented in lower socioeconomic groups – Arab Israelis, (21% of Israel’s population) and ultra-orthodox Jews (13% of the population).
Objectives: To analyze sociodemographic differences among Israeli Arabs, ultra-orthodox Jews, and non-ultra-orthodox Jews in relation to respiratory-related cancer mortality
Methods: Using data from several sources (Population Registry, Tax Authority, Education Registry, Ministry of Health), a retrospective cohort study was conducted on respiratory cancer-related mortality between 1996 and 2016. A total of 196,974 Arabs, 67,948 ultra-orthodox Jews, and 1,402,728 non-ultra-orthodox Jews were included. A multivariate model examined the association between ethnicity/religiosity and mortality. The study population was divided into six groups by sex and ethnicity/religiosity to determine their association between sociodemographic factors and mortality.
Results: The overall mortality rate was 0.6%. Mortality rates were 0.8%, 0.3%, and 0.6% among Arabs, ultra-orthodox Jews, and non-ultra-orthodox Jews, respectively. After adjusting for age and SES, Arab men had higher mortality rates (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR)=1.325, 99% confidence intervals (CI) =1.200,1.463), while ultra-orthodox men had lower rates (AHR=0.401, 99%CI=0.316,0.510) compared to non-ultra-orthodox men. Both ultra-orthodox Jewish women (AHR = 0.503, 99%CI=0.347,0.727) and Arab women (AHR= 0.510, 99%CI=0.397,0.655) had lower rates of mortality compared to non-ultra-orthodox women.
Conclusions: Differences in sociodemographic factors in relation to health outcomes should be identified among minority groups, particularly those susceptible to negative outcomes. Interventions may need to be tailored based on underlying contextual factors.