Obesity, medical distrust contribute to high rates of prostate cancer in Louisiana

Factors such as increased risk for African-Americans, obesity and medical distrust contribute to high rates of prostate cancer in Louisiana. Louisiana has the fourth highest prostate cancer death rate in the country and the sixth highest incidence rate, according to data from North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Louisiana has a large African-American population and one of the highest obesity rates in the U.S.," said Skip Lockwood, CEO of ZERO — The Project to End Prostate Cancer. "These factors combined make men in Louisiana at heightened risk of developing prostate cancer and dying from the disease."

A recent Gallup poll ranks Louisiana as the fourth most obese state is in U.S., with more than 30 percent of the state's population being obese. Obesity may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer, and obesity and smoking are associated with an increased risk of dying from the disease.

Thirty-two percent of Louisiana's population is African American, and for reasons that remain unclear, rates of prostate cancer are 60 percent higher among men with African ancestry, and the death rate is two-and-a-half times that of white men. In addition to African ancestry, other risk factors for prostate cancer include age and family history of the disease. Studies suggest that a diet high in processed meat or dairy foods may also be a risk factor.

A 2011 study from the Journal of General Internal Medicine showed that African-American men go less often for preventive health visits and face greater illness and premature death risk from conditions that usually respond well to treatments if caught in early stages. Nearly 100 percent of African-American men diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer are alive five years from diagnosis, but when diagnosed in a late stage, only 29 percent survive five years.