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Clinical Takeaway
: Counties with a higher prevalence of medical debt had a higher incidence of all-stage and late-stage cancers.Context
Millions of Americans are saddled with medical debt, particularly those who are part of low-income, uninsured, and socially marginalized populations. To examine the correlation between medical debt and the incidence of nine cancers that can be identified early through screening or signs and symptoms, researchers analyzed publicly available U.S. county-level data. For each county, they quantified the percentage of residents with medical debt and the overall and late-stage incidence of each cancer.
Key Results
After adjustment for potential confounders, medical debt was significantly associated with a higher incidence of late-stage disease for seven of the nine cancers studied and all-stage disease for eight.
The strongest association was…