Rising unemployment and reduced public health spending in the two years after the 2008 financial crisis led to an estimated 260,000 additional cancer deaths in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD), according to a new study in The Lancet.
The apparent good news for Canadians is that countries with universal health care coverage are able to protect their citizens from increased deaths – so long as they don’t cut public health budgets.
The team of researchers looked at unemployment rates and rates of cancer deaths in 75 countries between 1990 to 2010.
They found that a one per cent rise in unemployment was associated with 0.37 additional cancer deaths per 100,000 people.
The researchers also broke down cancers into those considered “treatable” more often than not, such as breast and prostate cancer, and those considered “untreatable,” such as lung and pancreatic cancer. They found the relationship between rising unemployment and rising deaths was only significant for the treatable cancers.
What’s more, the correlation was not significant in nations with universal health care, like the United Kingdom and Canada, suggesting a protective effect.
Co-author Rifat Atun said in a news release that the results suggest people living in countries without universal health insurance – such as in United States – are more likely die as a result of late diagnosis or inadequate care when they employer-funded insurance.
The study also found that a one per cent decrease in public healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP was associated with a 0.0053 additional deaths from cancers per 100,000 people.
That shows that “health care cuts could cost lives” said lead author Dr. Mahiben Maruthappu.
“If health systems experience funding constraints, this must be matched by efficiency improvements,” he said.
