Study by Center for Community and Public Health is focus of St. Louis Public Radio story

A 2011 St. Louis County Community Health Needs Assessment conducted by the University of New England Center for Community and Public Health was the focus on a story that aired St. Louis Public Radio Feb. 24, 2012. 

The study found that the incidence rate for prostate cancer in the county was about 30 percent above Missouri’s average and almost 20 percent higher than the national average. Ronald D. Deprez, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of the UNE Center for Community and Public Health, was interviewed for the story.

He explained that the study finds that behavioral risk factors for the county such as smoking, poor diets and sedentary lifestyles are actually below state and national averages. This would suggest that an answer explaining the high rates lies somewhere in the environment. “When you see the size of the cancer rates – they’re not just anomalies,” Deprez said. “There’s something going on there – in my view. So, I think it should be followed up on.” 

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