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Latitude gradients in melanoma incidence and mortality in the non-Maori population of New Zealand

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Abstract

The variation with latitude of incidence and mortality for cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in the non-Maori population of New Zealand was assessed. For those aged 20 to 74 yeas, the effects of age, time period, birth-cohort, gender, and region (latitude), and some interactions between them were evaluated by loglinear regression methods. Increasing age-standardized incidence and mortality rates with increasing proximity to the equator were found for men and women. These latitude gradients were greater for males than females. The relative risk of melanoma in the most southern part of New Zealand (latitude 44° S) compared with the most northern region (latitude 36° S) was 0.63 (95 percent confidence interval [CI]=0.60–0.67) for incidence and 0.76 (CI=0.68–0.86) for mortality, both genders combined. The mean percentage change in CMM rates per degree of latitude for males was greater than those reported in other published studies. Differences between men and women in melanoma risk with latitude suggest that regional sun-behavior patterns or other risk factors may contribute to the latitude gradient observed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hugh Adam Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Otago University Medical School, PO Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Jean-Luc Bulliard, Brian Cox & J. Mark Elwood

Authors
  1. Jean-Luc Bulliard
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  2. Brian Cox
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  3. J. Mark Elwood
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Additional information

This work was carried out during the tenure(by J-L.B.) of a Training Scholarship from the Swiss League Against Cancer.

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Bulliard, JL., Cox, B. & Elwood, J.M. Latitude gradients in melanoma incidence and mortality in the non-Maori population of New Zealand. Cancer Causes Control 5, 234–240 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01830242

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01830242

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