Cancer incidence in the Somali population of Olmsted County: A Rochester epidemiology project study

Somali immigrants and refugees constitute one of the largest African ethnic groups immigrating to the United States over the past three decades with the majority resettling in the state of Minnesota. Previous studies have documented significant cancer screening disparities between the Somali population and the general population. However, little is known about cancer incidence among Somali groups living in the United States.

We determined the incidence of 18 types or sites of malignancy using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes and compared them between Somali and non-Somali populations in Olmsted County, Minnesota utilizing the Rochester Epidemiology Project medical records-linkage infrastructure for the years 2000-2020. Poisson regression models were used to model the rates for each malignancy.

There was a higher incidence and relative risk of liver malignancies among the Somali population versus non-Somali population, but lower relative risk and incidence of the following malignancies: breast, cervical, and melanoma. After direct age-sex adjustment to the United States 2000 Census population, liver was the most common cancer in Somali men, while breast cancer was the most common malignancy in women.

Malignancies related to infectious agents such as viral hepatitis have a higher incidence in the Somali immigrant population of Olmsted County. There is a lower incidence of malignancies related to lifestyle factors in this Somali population. Findings of this study may help inform cancer prevention and screening strategies among Somali communities in the United States.