Meanwhile, the rest of the country cancer incidence Data shows that the populations of the “Corn Belt” states of Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Kansas are growing at an alarming rate.
The rapid increase in America’s corn-producing states caught the attention of the University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, which assembled a panel to study the trend.
One of the experts, Dr. Marian Neuhauser, a professor at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, was the next expert on the panel. nutrition and obesity.
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“This committee was created after they realized that cancer rates in Iowa were increasing at a faster rate than other states,” Neuhauser told FOX News Digital.
Data analysis by washington postfound that the number of people diagnosed with cancer in six Corn Belt states has exceeded the national average since the mid-2010s, based on federal health datasets.
In 1999, cancer rates in the Midwest were on par with the national average. Currently, the rate is about 5% higher among residents aged 15 to 49, a pattern that began to diverge in the 2000s and has steadily widened.
The paper published its findings based on data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. cancer incidence Nationwide.
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The analysis used Iowa’s multi-year average and compared rates from 1999 to 2022, excluding 2020 due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Neuhauser noted that part of the increase is due to cancers that are preventable or detectable through screening.
Researchers are investigating both the environment and the environment. lifestyle factors That may be driving the increase.
According to the Iowa Cancer Registry, part of the National Institutes of Health’s surveillance network, outdoor UV exposure and high rates of binge drinking may be to blame.
The Iowa Environmental Health Sciences Research Center describes the state as a “hot spot for environmental exposure to carcinogens.”
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The region’s soil and groundwater reportedly contain some of the highest levels of natural radon and nitrate in the country, largely due to fertilizer use in agriculture. Both substances are associated with a high risk of lung disease. digestive cancer.
Meanwhile, the widespread use of pesticides and herbicides, including glyphosate, continues to provoke debate among scientists and regulators.
Dr. Anne McTiernan, a professor of epidemiology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, analyzed decades of research on glyphosate and cancer risk.
“Glyphosate, a broad-spectrum herbicide, has been used in the United States for decades and is reported to be the most widely used pesticide around the world,” she told Fox News Digital.
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified glyphosate as a 2A carcinogen (‘probably carcinogenic to humans’), the second highest grade of carcinogens, McTiernan said.
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Her review of research dating back to 2025 found that people with long-term, high-level exposure to glyphosate, such as those who work on farms, had about a 40% higher risk of developing the disease. non-hodgkin lymphoma compared to those who were not exposed.
Experts say this level of increased risk, when combined with laboratory evidence that glyphosate can damage DNA and cause cellular stress, is considered strong enough to support a causal link.
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Lifestyle factors also exacerbate the risk. About 21% of Iowa adults report binge drinking or binge drinking, compared to about 17% nationally, according to CDC data.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services reports that approximately 35% of adults in the state are classified as obese, ranking it among the 19 states with the highest obesity rates. obesity prevalence It’s above that level. Nationally, the CDC reports that the obesity rate among adults is approximately 40%.
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Neuhauser pointed out that 13 different cancers are associated with obesity.
“Everyone wants to pinpoint cancer risk to a single exposure, but cancer is so complex that it’s usually caused by a combination of factors,” she says.
