Gender and ethnic disparities in breast cancer and cardiovascular disease-related mortality in United States from 1999-2019: A retrospective analysis.

Abstract

e13777 Background: Breast cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVS) are among the leading causes of mortality in the United States, exerting a significant public health burden. Understanding mortality trends over time is critical to identify disparities and guide targeted interventions. This study provides a comprehensive retrospective analysis of breast cancer and CVS-related mortality trends in the U.S. from 1999 to 2019. Methods: Mortality data were extracted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiological Research (CDC WONDER) database from 1999 to 2020. Age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) and Crude Mortality Rate (CMR) per 100,000 individuals and annual percent changes (APC) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: Between 1999 and 2020, 340,702 deaths were attributed to breast cancer and cardiovascular disease in the United States. The age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) decreased from 5.7 to 4 (AAPC: -1.20, 95% CI -1.59 to -0.88, p < 0.000001) but increased from 4 in 2017 to 4.5 in 2020 (APC: 4.54, 95% CI 2.19 to 6.93, p = 0.0007). Females consistently had higher AAMRs (8.0–9.3) than males (0.1–0.2), with a sharp rise in females from 7.8 to 8.1 between 2018 and 2020 (APC: 6.33, p < 0.000001). Ethnic disparities showed African Americans with the highest AAMRs (8.1–6.6), followed by Whites (5.5–4.4), American Indians (3.5–2.7), and Asians (3.1–2.7). Both urban and rural AAMRs initially declined but increased post-2017, with rural areas rising from 4.1 to 4.8 (APC: 5.40, p < 0.000009). Conclusions: These findings highlight persistent sex, racial, and geographic disparities, with recent increases in mortality trends across various demographics and regions, underscoring the need for targeted public health interventions to address these inequities.