Details about this story

• Source: Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
• Date: January 13, 2008
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Michael Schroeder
• Topics: Health Care
• Data Types: State Data
• Description/Excerpt: Adjusting for age, lung cancer has afflicted more people per capita in ZIP code 46803 - on Fort Wayne's east side - than in any other city ZIP code, according to figures the Indiana State Department of Health gathered for The Journal Gazette. The state said 46803, a working-class tract that extends into New Haven's west side, had 115 reported cases from 1995 to 2005. A ZIP-code-by-ZIP-code breakdown revealed that the poorest, least-educated ZIP codes in Fort Wayne had the highest lung cancer rates. Given that higher poverty levels and less education usually coincide with higher smoking rates, health officials believe smoking is the most likely culprit. But others contend less prominent causes might be to blame.