On Baby-Boomer Birth Certificates: A Clue to Cancer Risks?

Source: Medscape, October 2016

Both parental occupation at birth and the socioeconomic status (SES) of the neighborhood that a baby is born into were associated with varying risks for certain cancers later in life, according to a new study of American baby boomers.

The study is novel because, although it is somewhat established that SES in early life may play a role in cancer risk in adulthood, parental occupation on the birth certificate has never been used in cancer epidemiology.

Researchers from the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, and Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, now report that high occupational status of the parents, as indicated on the birth certificate, is associated with increased risk for breast and prostate cancers and melanoma.