Tropical Region Vs Cancer Incidence Rate , World Map

[Optimus]

I drew the tropical lines on cancer incidence rate map and the results are interesting but not surprising in Peat context. Higher incidence rates are all outside of the tropical region. It appears that moving to tropical countries might be the single most effective way to reduce cancer incidence. Peat right again.

I think if we normalized for things such as pollution and poverty (malnutrition), the contrast would be much more higher.

 

[lvysaur]

Most major correlation is wealth (though Saudi/UAE bucks the trend somehow).

What would be present in a wealthy nation, but not in an Islamic theocracy?

 

[Timurlane]

Most major correlation is wealth (though Saudi/UAE bucks the trend somehow).

What would be present in a wealthy nation, but not in an Islamic theocracy?

FEMINISM

 

[Sepulchrave]

Ivysaur wrote,
"Most major correlation is wealth"

No. That is not what the map indicates.

 

[Such_Saturation]

FEMINISM

So feminism works

 

[lvysaur]

Ivysaur wrote,
"Most major correlation is wealth"

No. That is not what the map indicates.

It indicates a number of things. Obviously it indicates that equatorial > polar, and the sunlight argument follows directly. But in addition to that, poor polar countries seem to fare better than rich ones. Meat consumption is probably a factor as well.

 

[Nicole W.]

Most major correlation is wealth (though Saudi/UAE bucks the trend somehow).

What would be present in a wealthy nation, but not in an Islamic theocracy?

I used to live in Saudi. It's not the religion or their political orientation. It's the traditional diet. They use a lot of oil, seeds, nuts and beans in their cuisine. PUFA heavy. Also, women are required to wear abaya/abayat when in public for modesty ( only eyes and hands are exposed) so they are typically deficient in vitamin D despite the extremely hot climate. I think these are the main reason for elevated cancer and diabetes rates in these countries.

 

[lvysaur]

I used to live in Saudi. It's not the religion or their political orientation. It's the traditional diet. They use a lot of oil, seeds, nuts and beans in their cuisine. PUFA heavy. Also, women are required to wear abaya/abayat when in public for modesty ( only eyes and hands are exposed) so they are typically deficient in vitamin D despite the extremely hot climate. I think these are the main reason for elevated cancer and diabetes rates in these countries.

Saudi has a low cancer rate on that map.

 

[Nicole W.]

Saudi has a low cancer rate on that map.

Sorry, it's higher income incidence of kidney disease and diabetes in these middle eastern countries that they have attributed to the high consumption of legumes and seed oils. I believe Israel is another country where the incidence of these diseases are high.

 

[lampofred]

It could be estrogen. Wealthy countries use tons of birth control/pesticides/are constantly exposed to radiation via wifi and cell phones, so the estrogenic burden is much higher. Saudi Arabia definitely will have much less birth control than other wealthy countries so that could explain the disparity.

 

[shepherdgirl]

Cold Makes Animals Live Much Longer. But Why?
OK, I know this article is speaking in generalities, and the author may be neglecting all kinds of important variables. But the same could be said about any conclusions as to why tropical humans develop much less cancer. One of the only explanations for the longer lifespan of colder animals in the article is the "rate of living" hypothesis, which the author admits is far from proven.
What could be some reasons that cold climates could help animals live longer? I would think that cold climate animals would have more pufa, less sun and more darkness, fewer food choices, and a much more stressful environment. Maybe the fact that many of the cold weather animals hibernate in some kind of burrow, probably breathing in a lot of co2? Maybe brown fat? Oxygen content and water temperature (for fish)? Maybe all the animals get eaten in a poor country?
It's just interesting to me that human cancer incidence rates are going the opposite way, which might imply that human lifespan is longest in the places animal lifespan is shortest. Why wouldn't Peaty conditions work better for animals too?

 

[Nicole W.]

Cold Makes Animals Live Much Longer. But Why?
OK, I know this article is speaking in generalities, and the author may be neglecting all kinds of important variables. But the same could be said about any conclusions as to why tropical humans develop much less cancer. One of the only explanations for the longer lifespan of colder animals in the article is the "rate of living" hypothesis, which the author admits is far from proven.
What could be some reasons that cold climates could help animals live longer? I would think that cold climate animals would have more pufa, less sun and more darkness, fewer food choices, and a much more stressful environment. Maybe the fact that many of the cold weather animals hibernate in some kind of burrow, probably breathing in a lot of co2? Maybe brown fat? Oxygen content and water temperature (for fish)? Maybe all the animals get eaten in a poor country?
It's just interesting to me that human cancer incidence rates are going the opposite way, which might imply that human lifespan is longest in the places animal lifespan is shortest. Why wouldn't Peaty conditions work better for animals too?

 

[ImprovingDaily]

So now the real questions. How does one spend more time in equatorial places? After peating for almost 2 years, I'm realizing more and more that I want to live somewhere more sunny. I live in northern California and this latitude just isn't cutting it for me. Where would be the best place to go though? If I wanna stay in U.S and California, I'd have to go to like San Diego or something, but the population density of Southern California is an issue for me and it might still not be good enough latitude-wise. So Mexico? Lol. Southern Mexico might be interesting, I just don't know WHERE exactly. Then when I pick a spot to go, I'd have to decide if I wanna live there, or maybe build a house there and visit on vacation? So many questions lol.

 

[Nicole W.]

Years ago I read a book called Survival of The Sickest by Dr. Sharon Maolem. The focus of the book is human disease seen through an evolutionary lens. His theories and arguments are pretty fascinating IMO.
In the chapter discussing the potential origin of diabetes, he pointed out that diabetes 1 is much more common in people who reside in cold weather places and the disease itself is more frequently diagnosed in the winter than any other time of year. Apparently Finland has the highest rate of diabetes 1 in the world.

His theory is that diabetes is actually an adaptation to cold weather arguing that sugar has anti-freeze properties and that a higher blood sugar level improves survival in frigid environments. Hilariously, he uses the analogy of ice wine in his argument. When grapevines experience an extended frost, the entire organism dumps water to prevent freezing of tissues. When this happens the sugar content of the grapes goes up, producing a very sweet wine. This is how the plant survives relatively unscathed. So could elevated blood sugar of these animals some how contribute to their longevity??? Just a thought.

 

[Nicole W.]

So now the real questions. How does one spend more time in equatorial places? After peating for almost 2 years, I'm realizing more and more that I want to live somewhere more sunny. I live in northern California and this latitude just isn't cutting it for me. Where would be the best place to go though? If I wanna stay in U.S and California, I'd have to go to like San Diego or something, but the population density of Southern California is an issue for me and it might still not be good enough latitude-wise. So Mexico? Lol. Southern Mexico might be interesting, I just don't know WHERE exactly. Then when I pick a spot to go, I'd have to decide if I wanna live there, or maybe build a house there and visit on vacation? So many questions lol.

I live in Northern CA too, near the water no less, and I'm fairly miserable Jan. through April. The weather sucks during these month. Now, of course, our East Coast and Midwest friends are probably rolling their eyes right now. I used to live in North Dakota so I know what cold is, but here in the Bay Area it gets very damp so even though we don't have freezing temps, the wind and the damp are pretty unpleasant. Our solution is to escape to Palm Springs as much as possible. There is no shortage of sun and warm weather, it's beautiful and not over populated or over priced. We love it and will eventually move there I think.

 

[Thoushant]

I think it speaks for the awareness about cancer, and increased screening methods for Breast, colon, prostate etc once you reach a certain age. Cancer is identified in early stages in Europe, US, Australia, and this drives the statistics up.
How is the survival rate for each country? Tropic might show up to the doctor once the cancer really has progressed and they feel symptoms, vs early identification and treatment in US, EU, AU. Survival rate data might still show something interesting.

 

[shepherdgirl]

@Thoushant
Yes, early detection could definitely skew the incidence map. Whereas you can't really skew animal death rates. Also as some people have mentioned, some countries choose to import a lot of food, take synthetic meds, etc. So entire countries can make themselves more or less Peaty than their natural environment, whereas animals, while influenced by people's practices (estrogens in the water for ex.), are probably a better representation of their natural environment. That is why I am surprised that the colder animals survive longer.

 

[shepherdgirl]

There are global cancer incidence and mortality maps for males and females on this page. To me it looks like tropical regions also have lower cancer mortality.

 

[x-ray peat]

Its probably many factors but one of the more Peatish is that these tropical countries use more coconut oil then vegetable oils. Also more of their traditional food sources are lower in PUFA than farther from the equator.

 

[alywest]

It could be estrogen. Wealthy countries use tons of birth control/pesticides/are constantly exposed to radiation via wifi and cell phones, so the estrogenic burden is much higher. Saudi Arabia definitely will have much less birth control than other wealthy countries so that could explain the disparity.

I think you're ideas are right! That and the lower cancer countries also eat the whole animal and more tropical fruits. It would be interesting to see a map of the United States and the rate of cancer by state. Would the southernmost states have less cancer? If so I would attribute that to vitamin D levels, but then why is Australia so high? Freakin wifi.