Rate of death from cervical cancer among native Indian women in British Columbia.

Objective: To compare the rates of death from cervical cancer among native Indian women and non-native women in British Columbia from 1953 to 1984.
Design: Retrospective analysis of data retrieved from the British Columbia Division of Vital Statistics.
Main Outcome Measures: Age-standardized death rate and relative rate.
Results: The rate of death from cervical cancer was significantly higher among the native women than among the non-native women throughout the study period. No deaths from cervical cancer were recorded in women under 20 years of age. Among those 20 to 64 the relative rate increased from 3.83 in 1953-62 to 6.53 in 1973-84; among those 65 or more it decreased slightly. For the entire study period the relative rate for women 20 to 64 years old was 5.95 and for those 65 or older 2.98.
Conclusion: The rate of death from cervical cancer among native women in British Columbia is unacceptably high, probably because the provincial screening program does not reach as many native women as it does non-native women.