| Summary: | Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) – i.e., cancer in the colon or rectum – is one of the most common cancers both globally and in Sweden. The risk for CRC is mainly related to age, heredity, and life-style risk factors. Previous studies have also demonstrated that individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES), living alone, or far from care facilities may have a higher risk for CRC or a worse outcome. In contrast to life-style or sociodemographic-associated risks, an inherited risk for CRC is difficult to modify. However, colonoscopic surveillance programs can be help prevent CRC in families with a known hereditary risk. The Northern Health Care Region (northern Sweden) is the most sparsely populated region in Sweden, and travel distances to care can be long. The population in Northern Sweden is on average older and has lower SES compared with the rest of the country. The impact of these sociodemographic differences on CRC in northern Sweden is not well known. Aim This thesis analyses CRC in a northern Sweden setting with regards to incidence, survival, and associated sociodemographic risk factors, including prevention for individuals with increased hereditary risk. Methods Papers I and II, cohort studies from the Risk North database, link individual data from health care registers to other sociodemographic registers. In Paper I, the incidence, mortality, and survival for all CRC cases in northern Sweden were compared with the rest of Sweden for the period 2007-2013. Uni- and multivariable Cox regression analysis were used to assess the impact of sociodemographic factors and tumour stage on survival by calculating hazard ratios (HR). In Paper II, we analysed any association between travel time to care and CRC survival in northern Sweden during 2007-2013 using the same type of Cox regression analysis. Papers III and IV are based on a cohort of individuals with a family history of CRC, prospectively recorded from 1995 to 2012 in the colonoscopic surveillance register at the Cancer Prevention Clinic at Umeå ...
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