An official government map shows the most important hot spots for young cancer patients in the United States.
The data comes amid a national surge in the disease in Americans under age 50, even those who appear relatively healthy and fit.
The map, based on the latest 2021 data from the National Cancer Institute, shows cancer incidence rates per 100,000 residents under age 50.
The figures were collected from more than 2,500 U.S. counties, though data was missing from Kansas and Indiana.
Rounding out the top five are all rural counties in the South and Midwest.
Union County, Florida, had the highest rate of early-onset cancer, with 430 cases per 100,000 people.
Southwest of Jacksonville, this rural area of just 15,000 residents has historically led the nation in lung, oral, colorectal and skin cancers.
Health officials believe this could be due to high smoking rates and a lack of funding for health care in the area, as well as the fact that one in six residents lives in poverty.
Poverty is linked to poor diet, lack of sleep, high alcohol consumption and other factors that increase cancer risk.
Fisher County, Texas, had the second-highest rate, at 213 per 100,000 residents, and additional data suggests this could be because one in five residents is uninsured, meaning they may be more likely to skip preventive screenings.
Rural counties in Nebraska, Arkansas and West Virginia rounded out the top five.
Meanwhile, Currituck County, North Carolina, had the lowest cancer rate in people under age 50, which could be due to having a higher household income than the national average and a more urban population than counties with higher rates.
Despite rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes being up to 35 percent higher than the national average, the border community ranks below the national average for lung, bronchus and breast cancer, according to state health data.
Union County’s high rates could be due to a combination of poor health outcomes.
According to a recent report from the Institutes for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Union County is the least healthy county in the U.S. overall.
Data revealed that small businesses lead the U.S. deaths from HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
In terms of cancer, the area had rates two to six times higher than the national average for cancer of the trachea, bronchus, lung, kidney, liver, mouth, colorectal, testicular and pancreas.
The county’s life expectancy is also just 67 years, well below the national average of 76, according to US News and World Report.
In 2014, Joe Pietrangelo, health officer for the Union County Health Department, saying The department suffered from a persistent lack of funding, which prevented it from offering services such as screenings to vulnerable residents.
The 2022 census data also shows that 16 percent of residents live in poverty, 25 percent higher than the national average of 12.5 percent.
The map below shows the rate of cancer in people under age 50 in more than 2,500 U.S. counties.
Fisher County, Texas, had the second-highest rate of cancer in people under age 50. Although the area’s smoking rate, at 16.5 percent, is about 13 percent lower than the national average, 17.6 percent of residents are uninsured. This could prevent them from keeping up with preventive screenings, such as colonoscopies.
Thayer County, Nebraska, rounded out the top three, with 204 cases per 100,000 residents. With just 3,600 residents, one in 10 lives in poverty, according to census data.
In Nebraska, surrounded by vast areas of agricultural land, pesticide use may also contribute to high cancer rates among young people. 2019 Report The environmental group Green Matters, for example, found that Nebraska had the third-highest use of the herbicide glyphosate, behind Illinois and Iowa.
Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes the chemical is “unlikely to be carcinogenic,” research has widely debated the issue. However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization, classified it as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Woodruff County, Arkansas, and Webster County, West Virginia, ranked fourth and fifth, with 191 and 184 cases per 100,000 people, respectively.
Experts suggest that the high rates in these areas could be due to low household incomes, high poverty rates and increased use of pesticides.
Currituck County, North Carolina, on the other hand, had the lowest incidence, with 55 cases per 100,000 people. With 28,100 residents, the NCI classifies this county as “urban.”
The lower rates could be due to household income, which is just under $83,000, about 10 percent higher than the national average of $74,000. Also, only 8.5 percent of residents live in poverty compared to the national average of 12.5 percent.
These factors may increase the likelihood that residents can afford health insurance, screenings and doctor visits, reducing the risk of developing cancer at an early age.