Decline in US childhood cancer mortality. 1950 through 1980

Cancer mortality among children in the United States, 1950 through 1979, as evaluated by death certificate diagnoses, revealed dramatic declines primarily in the second half of the 30-year interval. The numbers of deaths of persons younger than 15 years, 1965 through 1979, as compared with the number expected at 1950 rates, fell 50% for leukemia, 32% for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 80% for Hodgkin's disease, 50% for bone sarcoma, 68% for kidney cancer, and 31% for all other cancer. There were 17,411 fewer deaths from childhood cancer from 1965 through 1979 than expected at the 1950 rate. Leukemia mortality declined by 8,073 deaths and kidney tumor mortality by 2,393. In data subsequently received for 1980, the decline in rates persisted for leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but the rates for the other four cancer categories seem to have reached a plateau. The reduction in mortality is attributed to improved therapy.     

Cardiovascular mortality in Peninsular Malaysia: 1950-1989.

Mortality statistics of Peninsular Malaysia for the period 1950-1989 have been studied in relation to cardiovascular diseases, with particular emphasis on coronary heart disease as an important cause of death. It was observed that among six major disease groups reviewed, cardiovascular diseases which occupied third place as a cause of death in 1950 emerged as the number one killer during the 1970s and has remained so since (with exception in 1980). In contrast, infectious diseases which ranked first in 1950 dropped to fourth position in 1980. Between 1960 and 1980, mortality due to cardiovascular diseases was higher in males than in females. This tendency became less apparent during 1985-1989. With reference to race, the incidence of cardiovascular deaths was highest in Indians followed by Chinese and Malays. Among the specific cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart and cerebrovascular diseases accounted for the main causes of mortality. Mortality due to coronary heart disease has increased by more than three fold over the last 40 years and is still rising. However, mortality incidence due to rheumatic heart disease and hypertension decreased during the same period. In 1965, mortality due to coronary heart disease was highest in the 55-59 age group. In recent years (1985 to 1989), it shifted to the older age group (i.e. 65-69). There was a tendency for higher mortality due to coronary heart disease in males compared to females. Indians had a higher mortality due to coronary heart disease than Chinese and Malays.     

Recent trends in aboriginal mortality

Mortality is an important measure of the extent of the health disadvantages experienced by Australia's Aborigines. In the absence of routinely available data on Aboriginal deaths, this paper has collated information from a number of sources. In addition to published reports and theses, it also includes unpublished data provided to the Australian Institute of Health by State and Territory health authorities. The review also draws on data on maternal deaths, collated on a triennial basis and published by the National Health and Medical Research Council. Despite improvements in some indices of mortality, the death rates of Aborigines, particularly for young and middle-aged adults, are unacceptably higher than those of non-Aboriginal Australians. Without substantial reductions in death rates, the expectation of life of Aborigines will remain comparable with that of people living in developing countries.     

Recent trends in neonatal mortality: the Canadian experience.

In Canada between 1958 and 1977 the neonatal mortality dropped by more than 50%. the decline was most prominent from 1963 and was almost entirely due to an improvement in neonatal birthweight-specific mortality, which suggests an improvement in perinatal medical care. The timing and pattern of the decline are similar to those reported for the United States. There was a transient increase in the incidence of low and very low birthweight in both countries in the late 1960s. The cause of this increase remains unexplained.     

Trends in mortality among California physicians after giving up smoking: 1950-79

A study was conducted to assess how lung cancer and other mortality trends among California physicians had been influenced by the high proportion who had given up smoking since 1950. Several sample surveys indicated that the proportion of California physicians who currently smoked cigarettes had declined dramatically from about 53% in 1950 to about 10% in 1980. During the same period the proportion of other American men who smoked cigarettes had declined only modestly, from about 53% to 38%. Using the 1950 American Medical Directory a cohort of 10 130 California male physicians was established and followed up for mortality till the end of 1979, during which time 5090 died. The information from follow up and death certification was exceptionally good. The standardised mortality ratio for lung cancer among California male physicians relative to American white men declined from 62 in 1950-9 to 30 in 1970-9. The corresponding decline in standardised mortality ratio was from 100 to 63 for other smoking related cancer, from 106 to 71 for ischaemic heart disease, and from 62 to 35 for bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. The standardised mortality ratio remained relatively constant for other causes of death not strongly related to smoking. The overall ratio declined in all age groups at a rate of about 1% a year. The total death rate among all physicians converged towards the rate among non-smoking physicians. By the end of the study period physicians had a cancer rate and total death rate similar to or less than those among typical United States non-smokers. This "natural experiment" shows that lung cancer became relatively less common on substantial elimination of the primary causal factor, cigarette smoking. Other smoking related diseases also became relatively less common, though factors other than cigarette smoking may have contributed to this change.     

Cervical cancer mortality trends in Australia--an update

Trends in the mortality rate due to cancer of the cervix in Australian women were reviewed for the period 1950-1984, taking into account the changes in the proportion of women who have undergone a hysterectomy. Cohort-based increases in women who were born after 1935, which had been reported previously, were observed to extend into the 40 to 44 years' age group and to continue the upward trend in women aged 30-39 years. However, for women who were less than 30 years of age there was evidence of a recent fall in the rate of cervical cancer mortality.     

Uterine cancers in Alberta: trends of incidence and mortality.

Death certificates were reviewed for the 543 Alberta women who died during the period 1969 through 1978 and for whom the underlying cause of death was coded as uterine cancer. To evaluate the recorded cause of death Alberta Cancer Registry records, which existed for 97% of the women, were examined. Calculations from the revised information showed an increase in the mortality of cancer of the corpus uteri and a decrease in the mortality of cancer of the cervix uteri over the 10-year period, but neither was statistically significant. During the same period in Alberta the incidence of cancer of the corpus uteri increased significantly and the incidence of cancer of the cervix uteri decreased significantly.     

The changing face of death: recent trends in Australian mortality

The principal causes of death for persons aged between 55 and 64 years are identified from Australian mortality data for 1966 and 1977. Four conditions--ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, bronchial carcinoma, and chronic airways disease--account for 62% of deaths in this age group, with 36% of deaths being attributed to ischaemic heart disease. Changes in age-specific mortality rates during the period from 1966 to 1977 are described for each of these four conditions. There have been substantial reductions in mortality from vascular disease in both sexes, and this trend has accelerated since 1974. A recent fall in mortality from bronchial carcinoma and chronic airways disease is indicated for males, while death rates from these disorders continue to increase rapidly for females. The introduction of beta-blockade in the treatment of vascular disease, and changes in the pattern of cigarette smoking are discussed in relation to these mortality trends.     

河南居民常见癌症死亡率及其流行趋势分析(1974～1999)

目的 :研究河南人口常见恶性肿瘤死亡率及其流行特征。方法 :收集河南省 1974～ 1976年全人口死亡回顾调查资料和 1983～ 1999年 1/ 10人口 ( 15市县 )居民死亡登记报告资料 ,按《中国恶性肿瘤登记报告试行规范》的统计方法 ,分析常见恶性肿瘤死亡率及动态特征并对未来趋势进行预测。结果 :近 2 6年来 ,河南居民总癌死亡率变化不大 ,而食管癌则呈下降趋势 ,胃癌相对稳定 ,肝癌、肺癌上升明显 ,子宫颈癌下降很快。结论 :建立以人群为基础的癌症登记报告系统 ,对于了解和掌握恶性肿瘤流行动态及其进行肿瘤控制是非常必要的     

Trends in mortality for respiratory disease in the Republic of Ireland: 1950–1973

Trends in mortality for chronic bronchitis, influenza and pneumonia are examined for the period 1950–1973. Bronchitis and pneumonia mortality show progressive increases while influenza has declined consistently. Anomalies associated with specific age/sex/location sub-groups are analysed and correlations between bronchitis mortality and tobacco consumption examined.     

Seasonal trends in US asthma hospitalizations and mortality

Asthma morbidity is known to exhibit seasonal periodicity. Yet the relationship between trends in morbidity vs mortality is not known. This report describes and compares the seasonal variation in asthma hospitalizations and mortality in the US population. During 1982 through 1986, both mortality and hospitalizations demonstrated periodic seasonal trends that were age specific and did not differ by sex, race, or region. For persons aged 5 through 34 years, hospitalizations peaked in September through November, whereas mortality trends peaked in June through August. A disproportionate number of the summer deaths in this age group occurred out of the hospital. For individuals 65 years old or older, both asthma hospitalizations and mortality demonstrated increases during December through February. The results of this study demonstrate age-specific seasonal variations in the clinical expression of asthma. Perhaps the treatment and prevention of asthma hospitalizations and mortality might be improved through further understanding of these trends.