Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and mortality of stomach cancer, and its relationship with the Human Development Index (HDI) and its components in Asia in 2012. Materials and Methods: This ecological study wa conducted based on GLOBOCAN project of WHO for Asian countries. We assessed the correlations between standardized incidence rates (SIR) and standardized mortality rates (SMR) of stomach Cancer with HDI and its components using SPSS18. Results: A total of 696,231 cases (68.7 in males and 31.3 in females, ratio of 2.19:1) and 524,465 deaths (67.1 in men and 33.0 in women, ratio 2.03:1) were included in 2012. Five countries with the highest SIR of stomach cancer were Republic Korea, Mongolia, Japan, China and Tajikistan. Five countries with the highest SMR of stomach cancer were Mongolia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China. Correlation between HDI and SIR was 0.241 (p = 0.106), in men 0.236 (p = 0.114) and in women -0.250 (p = 0.094). Also between HDI and SMR -0.250 (p = 0.871) in men -0.018 (p = 0.903) and in women -0.014 (p = 0.927). Conclusions: No significant correlation was observed between the SIR of stomach cancer, and the HDI and its dimensions, such as life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, and income level of the population.