Cancer and Chronic Disease Comorbidity in Incarcerated Individuals in the United States, Survey of Prison Inmates 2016

Purpose

There are limited studies examining the cancer and chronic disease comorbidity in individuals who are incarcerated in the United States.

Methods

We used the weighted analysis of 20,064 individuals from the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates in state correctional facilities across 50 states, to examine cancers and other reported comorbid chronic conditions or diseases.

Results

45 % of 20,064 individuals reported living with at least one chronic disease. The proportion of individuals currently having cancer was 1.23 % while 4.82 % reported ever being diagnosed with cancer by a medical professional. Incarcerated individuals with any chronic condition or diseases reported a higher risk of currently having cancer after adjusting for smoking, time incarcerated and age (OR, 2.18; 95 % CI, 1.43–3.31) compared to individuals not reporting having any chronic diseases.

Conclusions

There is a high burden of chronic diseases in individuals who are incarcerated, and these common chronic conditions are associated with currently having cancer even after adjusting for key risk factors for cancer like prior smoking and age. Efforts to reduce the high prevalence of chronic disease and improve cancer screening policies are necessary to improve the health of individuals who are incarcerated.