Less-educated women in South Korea have an increased chance of dying of cancer, including breast cancer and cervical cancer, a study showed.
The statistics show that socioeconomic inequality in women’s cancer mortality is rising here, the researchers said.
According to Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, the death rate of women who never finished elementary school and died from breast cancer was 8.5 out of 100,000 in 2001.
A decade later, that statistic jumped to 29.1 out of 100,000.
However, the death rate of women with higher education who developed breast cancer decreased from 10.41 out of 100,000 in 2001 to 9.88 in 2011.
More less-educated women are also dying from cervical cancer, according to the study. The death rate of those who never finished high school and suffered cervical cancer jumped from 6.24 out of 100,000 in 2011 to 9.15 a decade later.
The mortality rate of women who never attended high school and suffered cervical cancer, in particular, more than doubled from 2001 to 2011 ― from 4.78 out of 100,000 to 11.78.
Meanwhile, the rate of those who attended university only rose from 1.60 out of 100,000 in 2001 to 1.72 in 2011.
Women with limited education between the age of 25 and 44 had a higher risk of dying from women’s cancers than those in the age range of 45 to 64, according to the report.
“So many more women are now educated compared to the past,” said Dr. Song Yoon-mi, who organized the research.
“But this also means those with limited education may experience more inequality nowadays. Limited knowledge about women’s cancers, and lack of access to information and quality health care are some of the factors that increased their risk of dying from the diseases.”
Meanwhile, South Korea is one of the most-educated nations in the world. In 2012, 98 percent of young South Koreans aged 25 to 34 attended high school, and 66 percent received higher education, according to OECD data.
