City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy Researchers Release New Data on Prostate Cancer (Relationship between universal health insurance benefits and prostate cancer mortality in Colombia): Oncology – Prostate Cancer

Health Policy and Law Daily

2024 OCT 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Investigators publish new report on prostate cancer. According to news originating from City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy by NewsRx editors, the research stated, “Prostate cancer is the most common cause for cancer mortality among men in Colombia. Law 100, in 1993, created a contributory regime (private insurance) and subsidized regime (public insurance) in which the subsidized regime had fewer benefits.”

Financial supporters for this research include National Cancer Institute, United States; Santander Award of Boston University School of Public Health Global Health Department; Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.

The news journalists obtained a quote from the research from City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy: “However, Ruling T760 in July 2012 mandated that both systems must offer equal quality and access to healthcare. This study examines the impact of this change on prostate cancer mortality rates before and after 2012. Prostate cancer mortality records from 2006 to 2020 were collected from Colombia’s National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). Crude mortality was calculated by health insurance for different geographic areas and analyzed for changes between 2006 and 2012 and 2013-2020. Join-Point regressions were used to analyze trends by health insurance. Crude mortality rates in the contributory regime had a non-statistically significant decrease from 2006 to 2012 (AAPC= -1.32%, P = 0.14, 95% CI= -3.12, 0.52). In contrast, between 2013 and 2020 there was a non-statistically significant increase in crude mortality (AAPC 1.10%, P = 0.07, 95% CI= -0.09, 2.31). Comparatively, crude mortality in the subsidized regime, from 2006 to 2012, increased with a statistically significant AAPC of 2.51% (P < 0.001, 95% CI = 1.21, 3.83). From 2013 to 2020, mortality continued to increase with statistically significant AAPC of 5.52% (P < 0.001, 95% CI = 4.77, 6.27). Compared to their crude mortality differences from 2006 to 2020, from 2013 to 2020, the departments of Atlantico, Cordoba, Sucre, Arauca, Cesar, and Cauca had the highest rates in prostate cancer mortality in the subsidized regime compared to the contributory regime.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Ruling T760 did not positively impact prostate cancer mortality, particularly of men in the subsidized regime.”

For more information on this research see: Relationship between universal health insurance benefits and prostate cancer mortality in Colombia. BMC Public Health, 2024,24(1):1-10. (BMC Public Health - http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com). The publisher for BMC Public Health is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20117-4.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Emanuel Mejia, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. Additional authors for this research include Almira G. C. Lewis, Isabel C. Garces-Palacio, Diana M. Hernandez, Robert M. Chamberlain, Amr S. Soliman.