Trends in live births and birthweight by social class, marital status and mother's age, 1976-2000

This article describes trends in live births between 1976 and 2000 and by birthweight from 1983 to 2000 in England and Wales. It investigates variation by mother's age, social class of father and marital status and describes trends in the percentage of births which were multiple. Changes in patterns of childbearing and cohabitation throughout the period are described.     

Risk factors for low birthweight based on birth registration and census information, England and Wales, 1981-2000

This study examines whether there are socio-demographic factors (collected at census) that are not routinely available at birth registration that help to explain low birthweight in England and Wales in the 1980s and 1990s. Maternal age and marital status at the time of birth are known to affect the risk of low birthweight. The article looks at whether the additional socio-demographic information about the mother that is collected at Census modifies our understanding. It identifies specific groups at high risk of this negative birth outcome--being a mother from a non-White ethnic group, having a long-standing illness and living in a deprived area.     

4909例活产儿低体重情况分析

目的通过对4909例活产儿的出生低体重分析，找出影响出生低体重的相关因素，为降低出生低体重儿的发生提供有力数据。方法通过对4902例活产儿中385例出生低体重儿的住院病历及起母亲的住院病历进行详细分析，并进行相关调查。结果出生低体重与母亲居住地区、母亲文化程度等有关。结论提高母亲文化程度，降低母亲并发症，从而降低早产是降低出生低体重的关键。     

Inequalities in infant mortality: trends by social class, registration status, mother's age and birthweight, England and Wales, 1976-2000

This article examines trends in inequalities in infant mortality in England and Wales between 1976 and 2000. It describes variations in neonatal, postneonatal and infant mortality by mother's age, registration status, father's social class, multiplicity and birthweight. Throughout the period, social class differences in mortality were wider in the postneonatal period than the neonatal period and there was considerable variation in infant mortality by age of mother, birthweight and multiplicity within both manual and non-manual groups.     

Alcohol-related deaths by occupation, England and Wales, 2001-05

This article continues a long tradition of examining alcohol-related deaths by occupation in England and Wales. Results are presented for men and women which show those occupations with the highest and lowest indicators of alcohol-related mortality in 2001-05. For both sexes, many of the occupations with the highest alcohol-related mortality were found among those working in the drinks industry, including publicans and bar staff. Low indicators of alcohol-related deaths were found for men who worked as farmers and drivers, and women who worked with children.     

Trends in cancer incidence by deprivation, England and Wales, 1990-2002

This article examines trends in cancer incidence by deprivation in England and Wales, and at the Government Office Region (GOR) and Wales level over the period 1990-2002. The aim is to show whether the deprivation gap in cancer incidence between patients living in the least deprived areas and those in the most deprived has widened or narrowed over time for the three main cancers, breast (female), prostate and lung cancer. The results show that the deprivation gap in lung cancer incidence has widened in the majority of GORs and Wales, particularly in males. For prostate cancer, where incidence was generally higher among those living in the least deprived areas, the deprivation gap has also widened in the majority of GORs and Wales.     

Trends in suicide by marital status in England and Wales, 1982-2005

This article examines trends in suicide by marital status in England and Wales over the period 1982 to 2005. A protective effect of marriage has been observed in a number of previous studies and this article updates figures up to 2005. The article shows that despite changes in marriage patterns over the last 25 years, those who are married still have the lowest risk of suicide, and there has generally been no obvious decline in the difference in suicide rates between those who are married and those who are not.     

Teenage conceptions by small area deprivation in England and Wales, 2001-2002

This article examines the relationship between teenage conceptions and deprivation in England and Wales in 2001-2002 using data at census ward level. Teenage conceptions are defined as births and abortions to women conceiving under the age of 18. Deprivation has been measured using Carstairs scores rebased using the 2001 Census. For the first time at ward level, analysis has differentiated between births and abortions resulting from teenage conceptions. Findings confirm the strong association between teenage conceptions and deprivation and also that deprivation has a strong influence on the likelihood of conceptions leading to either birth or abortion, although regional variations were observed for this relationship.     

Trends in premature mortality in England and Wales, 1950-2004

Premature mortality is a major public health concern but there has been little consensus among researchers on how it should be defined and reported. In this article four means of measuring early deaths are considered using four different age thresholds to define prematurity. Using these four indicators, trends in premature mortality are reported for England and Wales from 1950 to 2004. All measures show that, however 'premature' is defined, levels of premature mortality have decreased markedly over time. This article discusses which mortality indicator and age threshold would be most appropriate for a measure of premature mortality for use in national mortality statistics for England and Wales.     

Trends in deaths related to drug misuse in England and Wales, 1993-2004

In this article we report trends in deaths related to drug misuse in England and Wales from 1993 to 2004, looking particularly at the period between 1999 and 2004, for which there was a Government target to reduce these deaths by 20 per cent. Although there was an overall decline in deaths related to drug misuse between 1999 and 2004, the percentage reduction, at 9 per cent, was less than the Government target. There was an increase in deaths between 2003 and 2004, largely accounted for by deaths involving heroin/methadone and morphine. Mortality rates were highest in young adults and an increase in mortality rates within this group appears to have been the driver behind rising mortality trends during the 1990s.