MONDAY, Sept. 26, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Here’s another reason to stay out of jail: New research shows the risk of dying from cancer is sharply higher among those who are behind bars or have been recently released.
In Connecticut prisons, where the data for this study were gathered, the average age for a cancer diagnosis was 50. For those who were never behind bars, it was 66. Other benchmarks showed similar differences.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in prison.
“The question is: Is incarceration itself a cause of these poor health outcomes or is incarceration something that tracks with other risk factors for adverse health outcomes, such as poverty or living in communities with higher environmental risks?” said study co-author Dr. Cary Gross. He is founding director of the Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy and Effectiveness Research Center (COPPER) at Yale School of Medicine.
Gross said he has