Disability related disparities in diagnosis and survival of digestive system cancers in Northern Italy
Abstract
Individuals with disabilities may experience disparities in cancer diagnosis, but population-based evidence remains limited. We conduct a population-based cohort study using linked cancer registry and administrative healthcare data for digestive system cancers diagnosed between 2018 and 2021 in Northern Italy, examining diagnostic routes and one-year survival according to pre-existing impairments. Individuals with impairments are more likely to be diagnosed following emergency presentation compared with those without impairments (51.8% compared with 37.9%; adjusted odds ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.23–1.61), particularly those with impairments of mental and neuromusculoskeletal functions. They also have higher one-year mortality (hazard ratio 1.36, 95% confidence interval 1.26–1.46), independent of socio-demographic and clinical factors. Here, we show that disability-related disparities in emergency cancer diagnosis and survival persist across multiple impairment categories, providing population-based evidence from a European setting on differences in diagnostic pathways across heterogeneous disability groups.
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BibTeX
@article{pennisi2026disability,
title = {{Disability related disparities in diagnosis and survival of digestive system cancers in Northern Italy}},
author = {Flavia Pennisi and Carlotta Buzzoni and Federico Gervasi and Maria Teresa Greco and Carlo Signorelli and Antonio Giampiero Russo and Cristina Renzi},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78262-w},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78262-w},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Disability related disparities in diagnosis and survival of digestive system cancers in Northern Italy
AU - Flavia Pennisi
AU - Carlotta Buzzoni
AU - Federico Gervasi
AU - Maria Teresa Greco
AU - Carlo Signorelli
AU - Antonio Giampiero Russo
AU - Cristina Renzi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/10
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78262-w
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78262-w
AB - Individuals with disabilities may experience disparities in cancer diagnosis, but population-based evidence remains limited. We conduct a population-based cohort study using linked cancer registry and administrative healthcare data for digestive system cancers diagnosed between 2018 and 2021 in Northern Italy, examining diagnostic routes and one-year survival according to pre-existing impairments. Individuals with impairments are more likely to be diagnosed following emergency presentation compared with those without impairments (51.8% compared with 37.9%; adjusted odds ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.23–1.61), particularly those with impairments of mental and neuromusculoskeletal functions. They also have higher one-year mortality (hazard ratio 1.36, 95% confidence interval 1.26–1.46), independent of socio-demographic and clinical factors. Here, we show that disability-related disparities in emergency cancer diagnosis and survival persist across multiple impairment categories, providing population-based evidence from a European setting on differences in diagnostic pathways across heterogeneous disability groups.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -