Photo Credit: Nemes Laszlo

Urban-rural disparities in skin cancer prevalence continue to persist, according to a study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. The study authors used data from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (2018 to 2021) to compare the prevalence of skin cancer in urban versus rural settings. They found that rural residents were significantly more likely to have a positive skin cancer history across most social determinants of health, including across all races. Compared with urban peers, rural non-Hispanic White individuals had greater odds of skin cancer history (OR, 1.40). The odds of skin cancer history were nearly doubled for rural Black (OR, 1.74), Hispanic (OR, 2.31), and other-race, non-Hispanic individuals (OR, 1.99), while the odds were 20-fold higher for Asians (OR, 20.46). The study team noted no significant differences in prevalence or odds of skin cancer history between urban and rural settings when household income was more than $100,000.