Temporal trends in the incidence and demographics of cancers, communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases in Saudi Arabia over the last decade

Herzallah, Hatem K.; Antonisamy, Belavendra R.; Shafee, Mohammed H.; Al-Otaibi, Sultan T.

Thyroid cancer is the third most common cancer among Saudi Arabian women. Increased incidence of thyroid cancer over the last decade may be attributed to its increased detection and diagnosis. 30 The mean age at diagnosis for thyroid cancer is 50 years in men and 42 years in women, which is significantly low. 31 The incidence of thyroid cancer is almost equal among individuals in the third, fourth, and fifth decades of life; however, this incidence differs according to gender, with most cases occurring in the third decade of life (20-30 years) in women and in the fifth decade of life (40-50 years) in men. 30 The increase in the incidence rate of overall cancer could be due to availability of better diagnostic tools now in Saudi Arabia compared to the early 1990's. Moreover, there is more robust registration of cancer cases compared to the past when the registry was launched and the experience was small in this vital field. Finally, Saudis live longer now, which explains the rise in cancer cases and chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. As the population ages and the infertility rate drops with more women joining the work force and with increased financial burden of the large families and higher education of the married couple; the younger age groups will make a less portion of the society. This will have an impact on the overall incidence rates of cancer and non-communicable diseases.