Why cancer is almost twice as likely in more developed countries compared with less developed countries?
I have looked at the statistics for cancer and it shows that cancer is 1.8 times higher in more developed countries compared with less developed countries - which to me is counter-intuitive (air pollution, more sun, nutrition, sanitation, etc.).
Why cancer is almost twice as likely in more developed compared with less developed countries?
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Precisely because developed countries have better air quality, nutrition, sanitation, healthcare, etc. life expectancy is higher and cancer is more likely in these countries.
This is because cancer is caused by mutations in DNA which accumulate over time.
Since life expectancy in general is higher in developed countries, there is more time for mutations to accumulate and for cancer to develop in these people.
Less developed countries have lower life expectancy, which means diseases and issues which developed countries have solved or are able to successfully deal with kill large enough portions of populations in undeveloped countries before mutations in DNA can accumulate in these people.
For this reason, cancer is often referred to as the problem -- in large part -- of the developed world.
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