Esophageal Cancer and associated Factors among Uzbek-Turkmen and Other Ethnic Groups in the Northern Part of Afghanistan

Abstract

<br /> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">Background: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">A high incidence rate of esophageal cancer has been observed in the Northern part of Afghanistan, particularly among those of Uzbek-Turkmen ethnicity. However, there is a paucity of published data from which to compare the prevalence of environmental risk factors for esophageal cancer between Uzbek-Turkmen and other ethnic groups. Thus, we investigated the prevalence of environmental risk factors associated with esophageal cancer in the Northern part of Afghanistan, focusing on ethnicity differences. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Methods: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This retrospective study covered 168 patients </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">diagnosed with esophageal cancer based on endoscopic findings when attending an outpatient clinic from October </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">2013 to April 2016. Demographic data and burden of relevant environmental risk factors were compared between Uzbek-Turkmen and other ethnic groups. Results: In the total of 168 patients (108 Uzbek-Turkmen and 60 other </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">ethnicities), males had significantly higher rates of opium use, chewing nass (a mixture of tobacco, ash and lime), and </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">smoking than female patients. The mean age of the Uzbek-Turkmen group was 62.9 years, while that of the other ethnic </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">group cases was 59.1. The prevalence of opium use, chewing nass and hot tea consumption was significantly higher in </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">the Uzbek-Turkmen group. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Conclusions: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This study showed that there were significant differences in prevalence of </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">opium, nass, and hot tea consumption between Uzbek-Turkmen and the other ethnic group patients with esophageal cancer in the northern part of Afghanistan. </span></span>