E. Mortality

E.1. General Mortality

56:30090 Alho, Juha M.; Spencer, Bruce D. Effects of targets and aggregation on the propagation of error in mortality forecasts. Mathematical Population Studies, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1990. 209-27 pp. New York, New York/London, England. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
"Official forecasts of mortality depend on assumptions about target values for the future rates of decline in mortality rates. Smooth functions connect the jump-off (base-year) mortality to the level implied by the targets. Three alternative sets of targets are assumed, leading to high, middle, and low forecasts. We show that this process can be closely modeled using simple linear statistical models. These explicit models allow us to analyze the error structure of the forecasts. We show that the current assumption of perfect correlation between errors in different ages, at different forecast years, and for different causes of death, is erroneous. An alternative correlation structure is suggested, and we show how its parameters can be estimated from the past data. The effect of the level of aggregation on the accuracy of mortality forecasts is considered." The geographical focus is on the United States.
Correspondence: J. M. Alho, University of Illinois, Institute for Environmental Studies and Department of Statistics, 1101 West Peabody Drive, Urbana, IL 61801. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30091 Bonneuil, N.; Fargues, P. Predicting the "vagaries" of mortality: the causes of death in Bamako from 1974 to 1985. Population Bulletin of the United Nations, No. 28, 1989. 58-94 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"The overall downward trend in African mortality is interrupted by recurring epidemics. This article investigates the nature of those temporary fluctuations, using cause-of-death data drawn from deaths registered in Bamako [Mali] over an 11-year period. The use of time-series analysis produces findings that can be used in three ways: first, to provide a short-term forecasting tool for public health officials; secondly, to clarify the relationship between the cause of death and exogenous mortality factors, particularly climatic and economic; thirdly, to assist in the analysis of synergies between disease and malnutrition, and intra-household transmission as an aggravating factor contributing to the seriousness of a disease."
Correspondence: N. Bonneuil, Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex 14, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30092 Britton, M. Mortality and geography: a review in the mid-1980s. The Registrar General's decennial supplement for England and Wales. Series DS, No. 9, ISBN 0-11-691294-4. 1989. xxii, 223 pp. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys [OPCS]: London, England. In Eng.
This publication presents a series of analyses by various authors on mortality in England and Wales in the 1980s. "It brings together not only the traditional analyses of mortality for administrative areas of England and Wales centred around the time of the 1981 Census, but also the outcome of relevant research undertaken using other data-sets like the OPCS Longitudinal Study and the linked infant mortality files. The volume also considers the mortality patterns of migrants, in particular immigrants from beyond the United Kingdom, and by place of birth as opposed to usual address."
Correspondence: Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, St. Catherines House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP, England. Location: Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques, Paris, France.

56:30093 Caselli, Graziella; Vallin, Jacques. Mortality and population ageing. European Journal of Population/Revue Europeenne de Demographie, Vol. 6, No. 1, May 1990. 1-25 pp. Amsterdam, Netherlands. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
The authors examine the effects of mortality trends on age structure and how fertility and migration affect demograpnic aging. "Computations are done for both France and Italy on population ageing during the last 30 years as well as until the end of the official population projections around 2040. Though the ageing effect of fertility decline is usually emphasized, we can see here that the consequences of mortality changes are at least equally (and sometimes more) important. The case of the Italian projection is particularly fascinating. Even if the very low fertility level of 1.4 children per capita is maintained until the year 2040, more than half the increase in the proportion of the population aged 60 and over (from 21% to 43% for females) would be due to mortality change and slightly less to fertility change."
Correspondence: G. Caselli, Universita di Roma La Sapienza, Departimento di Scienze Demografiche, Via Nomentana 41, 00161 Rome, Italy. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30094 Curtis, Sarah; Mohan, John. Utilization of geographic indicators of mortality for planning services: the example of England. [L'utilisation des indicateurs geographiques de mortalite pour la planification des services sanitaires: l'exemple de l'Angleterre.] Cahiers de Sociologie et de Demographie Medicales, Vol. 30, No. 2, Apr-Jun 1990. 177-92 pp. Paris, France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng.
The author assesses the use of geographic indicators of mortality for planning health services in England. "The computation of standardized mortality ratio (SMR) is carried out at various geographical levels: by regional health authorities..., district health authorities..., and wards....Mortality disparities are correlated to differential living conditions. Areas showing a higher SMR are likely to be those with an under-privileged population....On the basis of these findings, the Health Education Authority decided to implement policies aimed at: (i) decreasing cardiovascular mortality by 15 percent; (ii) decreasing the gap between under-privileged and 'rich' districts by 15 percent....The conclusion reached is that the decrease in the mortality rate cannot be achieved by a single action on the part of health authorities, as the task of improving living conditions or modifying individual behavior patterns is beyond their reach. Nevertheless, these challenges can and should be overcome."
Correspondence: S. Curtis, INSERM, CJF 88-12 Epidemiologie du Vieillissement et des Incapacites, Montpellier, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30095 Dzienio, Kazimierz. Mortality by sex and age in European and selected other countries, 1960-1984. [Umieralnosc wedlug plci i wieku w krajach europejskich i niektorych pozaeuropejskich w latach 1960-1984.] Studia Demograficzne, No. 2/96, 1989. 3-33 pp. Warsaw, Poland. In Pol. with sum. in Eng; Rus.
Mortality trends in Poland during the period 1960-1984 are compared with those in other European and developed countries. Age, gender, and causes of death are analyzed for the age group between 45-64 years. The author finds that cardiovascular diseases and cancer were the leading causes of death and that life expectancy for males is shorter than that for females.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30096 Fauveau, Vincent; Wojtyniak, Bogdan; Chakraborty, Jyotsnamoy; Sarder, Abdul M.; Briend, Andre. The effect of maternal and child health and family planning services on mortality: is prevention enough? British Medical Journal, Vol. 301, No. 6743, Jul 14, 1990. 103-7 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The impact of health and family planning services on mortality among infants, children, and mothers in two communities in Matlab, Bangladesh, during 1986-1987 are compared. The study community featured preventive, community-based intervention provided by maternal-child health and family planning programs, while the control area was poorly serviced. "In the intervention area community health workers provided advice on contraception and on feeding and weaning babies...; immunised children; trained birth attendants...; treated minor ailments; and referred seriously ill people and malnourished children to a central clinic....During the two years covered by the study overall mortality was 17% lower among neonates, 9% lower among infants aged 1-5 months, 30% lower among children aged 6-35 months, and 19% lower among women living in the study area than in those living in the control area."
Correspondence: V. Fauveau, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, P.O. Box 128, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30097 Gobalet, Jeanne G. World mortality trends since 1870. Garland Studies in Historical Demography, ISBN 0-8240-3951-3. LC 89-29412. 1989. xvii, 140 pp. Garland Publishing: New York, New York/London, England. In Eng.
"This work gives a sociological overview of theoretical and empirical work on the history of mortality. It identifies the factors which have produced mortality reduction and describes life expectancy trends in individual countries and geographical regions from 1870 until the late 1980s. It presents a comprehensive examination of the patterns and causes of historical mortality trends....Factors which affect life expectancy levels and trends include economic development, availability of health care, international health aid, income distribution, dependence on foreign investment, state (government) strength, and world system involvement. Models of the effects of these variables on life expectancy during various time periods are estimated using panel analysis....[and] reveal scant evidence of recent shifts in the relative importance of variables and tend to refute assertions made by theorists in the 1970s and early 1980s."
Correspondence: Garland Publishing, 136 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30098 Hanada, Kyo. Increases in the life expectancy and retirement ages. Jinko Mondai Kenkyu/Journal of Population Problems, Vol. 45, No. 4, Jan 1990. 17-29 pp. Tokyo, Japan. In Jpn. with sum. in Eng.
Proposals for changing the definition of old age to reflect increases in life expectancy are reviewed. The author then focuses on how this would affect changes in retirement age and old-age pensions in Japan.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30099 Hill, Allan G. Determinants of health and mortality in Africa. DHS Further Analysis Series, No. 10, Apr 1990. viii, 238 pp. Institute for Resource Development/Macro Systems, Demographic and Health Surveys [DHS]: Columbia, Maryland. In Eng; Fre.
"The papers in this series were produced during an eight-week Workshop held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine from 1 September to 26 October 1988. Ten participants were invited from six African countries--Burundi, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, and Senegal. The central aim of the Workshop was to produce a number of detailed studies based on the data collected recently under the international program of Demographic and Health Surveys organized by the Institute for Resource Development....[Topics covered include] environmental risk factors of childhood mortality in Liberia; childhood and adult mortality levels and trends in Morocco; recent trends in childhood mortality in Burundi and some determinants; vaccination in Burundi: coverage, uptake, and mortality effects; effects of breast-feeding on diarrhoeal morbidity, nutritional status, and childhood mortality in Mali; patterns of maternity care in Ondo State, Nigeria; [and] child morbidity in Senegal." The papers are in English or French.
Correspondence: IRD/Macro Systems, DHS Program, 8850 Stanford Boulevard, Suite 4000, Columbia, MD 21045. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30100 Jozan, Peter. Contrasts in mortality trends. In: International Population Conference/Congres International de la Population, New Delhi, September/septembre 20-27, 1989. Vol. 3, 1989. 231-45 pp. International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
Mortality trends among regions of the developed world are compared and contrasted. Life expectancy, sex and age differentials, causes of death, and socioeconomic factors affecting mortality are considered. Data are from the World Health Statistics Annual for 1987.
Correspondence: P. Jozan, Central Statistical Office, Budapest, Hungary. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30101 Katsuno, Masato. On the relation between mortality levels and age distributions of deaths. Jinkogaku Kenkyu/Journal of Population Studies, No. 12, May 1989. 1-10 pp. Tokyo, Japan. In Eng. with sum. in Jpn.
The author attempts to establish a link between two mortality indicators, age distributions of deaths and life expectancy at birth. This method is proposed as an alternative way of estimating mortality levels based on data for deaths at age 50 and above, to compensate for the difficulty of obtaining reliable demographic data in many developing countries. Data are from 1986 U.N. life tables for 43 developing countries.
Location: Princeton University Library (Gest).

56:30102 Kucera, I. Milan. Mortality and ageing of population in Czechoslovakia. [Umrtnost a starnuti obyvatelstva v Ceskoslovensku.] Acta Demographica, No. 8, 1988. 204 pp. Ceskoslovenska Akademie Ved, Ceskoslovenska Demograficka Spolecnost: Prague, Czechoslovakia. In Cze. with sum. in Eng; Rus.
This is a report on the Conference of the Czechoslovak Demographic Society and the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, which was held October 28-30, 1987. It contains papers concerned with the conference topic of mortality and demographic aging in Czechoslovakia. Chapters are included on the secular evolution of mortality, regional mortality differentials, the health status of the population, and health care in Czechoslovakia.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30103 Lancaster, H. O. Expectations of life: a study in the demography, statistics, and history of world mortality. ISBN 0-387-97105-X. LC 89-19654. 1990. xv, 605 pp. Springer-Verlag: New York, New York/Berlin, Germany, Federal Republic of. In Eng.
The author explores the history of mortality measurement and disease identification. Chapters are included on mortality and the evolution of society, identification and classification of diseases, measurement of mortality, dynamics of population growth, descriptions of various types of diseases, mortality in selected countries and continents, mortality rates for various age groups, factors in mortality declines, and changes in mortality by disease. "The epilogue gives an overall summary of the relationships between man and his diseases and accidents, from early man to the present, with some speculations on the future."
Correspondence: Springer-Verlag, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30104 Lilienfeld, Abraham M.; Lilienfeld, David E. Foundations of epidemiology. 2nd ed. ISBN 0-19-502722-1. LC 80-11840. 1980. xv, 375 pp. Oxford University Press: New York, New York/Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The purpose of this book is to present the concepts and methods of epidemiology as they are applied to a variety of disease problems....Emphasis is placed on the integration of biological and statistical elements in the sequence of epidemiologic reasoning that derives inferences about the etiology of disease from population data....This book has been designed as a text for introductory courses in epidemiology...." Four sections focus on mortality and morbidity and cover topics including mortality statistics and measurement; classification of cause of death; epidemiological studies of morbidity and mortality; mortality distribution in populations; morbidity statistics, measurement, and surveys; and record linkage. Sets of study problems are included in these chapters.
Correspondence: Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30105 Molyneaux, John W.; Wirakartakusumah, M. Djuhari; Syaukat, Achmad. Children's contributions to parent survival. Majalah Demografi Indonesia/Indonesian Journal of Demography, Vol. 16, No. 32, Dec 1989. x-xi, 111-23 pp. Jakarta, Indonesia. In Ind. with sum. in Eng.
"The purpose of this study is to explore how past investments in children's education are related to the survival rates of older parents in East Java, Indonesia." The authors estimate the demand for children in terms of a demand for an asset to insure old-age security. Results indicate a slight increase in parents' life expectancy with higher levels of children's education.
Correspondence: J. W. Molyneaux, Ekonomi Universitas Indonesia, Lembaga Demografi Fakultas, Salemba 4, Jakarta, Indonesia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30106 Ohba, Tamotsu. Evaluation of the approximation of the partial crude probability of death. Jinko Mondai Kenkyu/Journal of Population Problems, Vol. 45, No. 4, Jan 1990. 46-51 pp. Tokyo, Japan. In Jpn.
Five methods for approximating the partial crude probabilities of death are presented and compared.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30107 Post, John D. The mortality crises of the early 1770s and European demographic trends. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 21, No. 1, Summer 1990. 29-62 pp. Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Eng.
This is a comparative examination of eighteenth-century trends in fertility and mortality in western Europe. "The present study of the food shortages and mortality crises of the early 1770s is intended to add to our understanding of the variables responsible for the divergence of English and Continental population trends during that decade. It is also intended to shed additional light on the broader interrelated issues of the relationship between fluctuations in death rates and movements in real wages, and the role of epidemic disease in the inverse relationship between birth rates and death rates during short-run demographic variations."
Correspondence: J. D. Post, Northeastern University, Department of History, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30108 Reddy, P. H. Epidemiologic transition in India. In: Population transition in India, Volume 1, edited by S. N. Singh, M. K. Premi, P. S. Bhatia, and Ashish Bose. 1989. 281-90 pp. B. R. Publishing: Delhi, India. In Eng.
The author describes the nature of epidemiologic transition and discusses the problems presented by the sudden increase in the numbers of elderly people in the populations of developing countries, with a focus on India. The author examines India's age structure and changes in life expectancy from 1901 to 1981 and projects age structure to the year 2000. The changing pattern of causes of death is also presented.
Correspondence: P. H. Reddy, Population Centre, 2nd Cross, Mulleswaram, Bangalore 560 003, India. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30109 Riley, James; Alter, George. Mortality and morbidity: measuring ill health across time. PIRT Working Paper, No. 4, Aug 1986. 17 pp. Indiana University, Population Institute for Research and Training [PIRT]: Bloomington, Indiana. In Eng.
"This paper will describe historical sources that record health and ill health in a particular form, and show how these sources and recent health surveys may be exploited to measure morbidity. In the first part, the discussion will focus on what measurements presently available suggest about the relationship between morbidity and mortality. In the second part, we will consider what is being measured, some effects of work loss quantities on economic growth, the health effects that should be expected from declining mortality, and ways in which more generous compensation for work loss time in the welfare state influences worker and employer attitudes." The geographical focus is on eighteenth- and nineteenth century Great Britain and the twentieth-century United States.
Correspondence: Indiana University, Population Institute for Research and Training, Memorial Hall East 220, Bloomington, IN 47405. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30110 Rogers, Richard G.; Rogers, Andrei; Belanger, Alain. Active life among the elderly in the United States: multistate life-table estimates and population projections. Milbank Quarterly, Vol. 67, No. 3-4, 1989. 370-411 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"This article reports on research that directly assesses the elderly population's length and quality of life....We present current and future estimates of the size, age composition, and life expectancy of dependent and independent elderly male and female populations in the United States....Our findings are reported in four parts. First, we examine active life expectancies in terms of two functional statuses for the total United States population. Second, we disaggregate these expectancies by sex. Third, we explore the use of three rather than two statuses. Finally, we project the future active population both for the two-status and the three-status models; the former also includes disaggregation by sex."
Correspondence: R. G. Rogers, University of Colorado, Population Program, Campus Box 484, Boulder, CO 80309-0484. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30111 Rogowski, Jozef; Rutkowski, Jan. Costs and benefits of economic development in view of life expectancy. An application of soft modeling. [Koszty i korzysci rozwoju gospodarczego w swietle trwania ludzkiego zycia. Zastosowanie "modelowania miekkiego"] Studia Demograficzne, No. 4/98, 1989. 25-48 pp. Warsaw, Poland. In Pol. with sum. in Eng; Rus.
The impact of industrialization and urbanization on life expectancy in Poland is examined using a soft modeling approach.
Correspondence: J. Rogowski, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26-28, 00-325 Warsaw, Poland. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30112 Stolnitz, George J. Mortality: trends, prospects, causal interpretations, structural aspects. PIRT Working Paper, No. 11, [1987]. 5 pp. Indiana University, Population Institute for Research and Training [PIRT]: Bloomington, Indiana. In Eng.
The author summarizes the main international mortality trends for developed and developing countries. The trends are analyzed using three descriptive functions of mortality, including life expectancy, infant mortality rate, and crude death rate. "The discussion...deals next with future possibilities and causal interpretations. A final section, on selected major structural aspects of the trends, takes up regional variations, sex differentials, and urban-rural comparisons; each will be seen to involve significant departures from historical patterns."
This is also published in "The New Palgrave--A Dictionary of Economics," edited by J. Eatwell, M. Milgate, and P. Newman (London, England: MacMillan Press Ltd., 1987, Volume 3, pp. 556-60).
Correspondence: Indiana University, Population Institute for Research and Training, Memorial Hall East 220, Bloomington, IN 47405. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30113 Sufian, Abu J. M. Socio-economic correlates of life expectancy at birth: the case of developing countries. Journal of Population and Health Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2, Dec 1989. 214-27 pp. Seoul, Korea, Republic of. In Eng.
"In this paper, the effects of socio-economic and health services related variables on life expectancy at birth have been examined. National data for 50 developing countries obtained from the 'Family Planning and Child Survival: 100 Developing Countries' compiled by the Center for Population and Family Health, Columbia University, and from the 1987 World Population Data Sheet, have been used in this analysis. The multiple regression technique has been employed to identify the variables significantly associated with the life expectancy at birth....The female literacy rate has the largest contribution in lowering the life expectancy at birth followed by family planning program effort, and per capita daily calories."
Correspondence: A. J. M. Sufian, King Faisal University, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30114 Tabutin, Dominique. A comparative analysis of mortality trends in Northern Africa from 1960 to the present. [Evolution comparee de la mortalite en Afrique du Nord, de 1960 a nos jours.] Institut de Demographie Working Paper, No. 150, ISBN 2-87085-220-7. Apr 1990. 24 pp. CIACO Editeur: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Universite Catholique de Louvain, Institut de Demographie: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. In Fre.
This is a comparative analysis of mortality trends in the Maghreb countries of Northern Africa. Data are from a variety of local sources, particularly surveys. The indicators of mortality used are the crude death rate, life expectancy, and death probabilities by age and sex from age zero to five. The author notes that the region as a whole has entered an era of intermediate mortality similar to that of South America, although important differences among the countries of the region persists.
Correspondence: CIACO Editeur, 1 Place Montesquieu, Boite 17, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30115 Timaeus, Ian. Advances in the measurement of adult mortality from data on orphanhood. CPS Research Paper, No. 90-1, ISBN 0-902657-29-1. Jun 1990. vi, 59 pp. University of London, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Population Studies: London, England. In Eng.
The author presents procedures for estimating adult mortality using data on orphanhood. "Two such methods are developed and tested. The first estimates mortality from period data on orphanhood after age 20....The second method analyses data on orphanhood since first marriage which can be collected by a simple additional question asking whether an orphaned respondent's parent was alive when the respondent first married....Procedures are also presented for analyzing data on orphanhood prior to first marriage." Tables present data for Malawi, Morocco, Peru, Uganda, and Burundi.
Correspondence: University of London, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Population Studies, 99 Gower Street, London WC1E 6AZ, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30116 United Kingdom. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys [OPCS] (London, England). Mortality and geography: a review in the mid-1980s, England and Wales. Series DS, No. 9, ISBN 0-11-691294-4. 1990. xxii, 223 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"This report...is the latest in a series of decennial supplements spanning more than a century in which the office of the Registrar General of England and Wales reviews mortality in greater depth than is ordinarily possible in annual reports or other publications....[It includes] the traditional analyses and limited commentary...supplemented by a number of additional features. First, the commentary has been extended to cover a number of diseases where there is interest in their geographical distribution....Second, it now includes analyses of birthweight-specific infant mortality rates for regional and district health authorities. Third, various ways of examining geographical distributions...have been chosen for review....Fourth, the significance of migration...has been examined to help understand why some areas have higher mortality than others; also to investigate the possibility that environmental factors in early life, as reflected by place of birth, are an important determinant of some diseases. Finally, the mortality of children and adults born outside England and Wales has been compared with that for the indigenous population." Data are from the 1981 census and OPCS longitudinal studies for the period from 1971 to 1981.
Correspondence: Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, St. Catherines House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

E.2. Prenatal and Perinatal Mortality

56:30117 Aaby, Peter; Seim, Eva; Knudsen, Kim; Bukh, Jette; Lisse, Ida M.; da Silva, Maria C. Increased postperinatal child mortality among children of mothers exposed to measles during pregnancy. American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 132, No. 3, Sep 1990. 531-9 pp. Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"Previous studies of an urban and a rural epidemic in Guinea-Bissau have shown perinatal mortality to be statistically significantly higher among children whose mothers have been exposed to measles during pregnancy....[The authors investigate] whether the increase in mortality extended into the postperinatal period....We have analyzed data from two epidemics. One occurred in 1979 in Bandim, a district in the capital of Guinea-Bissau. The other took place in 1983 in Quinhamel, a rural area 50 km outside of the capital....Data...indicate that, among children of mothers exposed to measles during pregnancy, mortality was higher not only during the perinatal period but also in the first years of childhood."
Correspondence: P. Aaby, University of Copenhagen, Institute of Anthropology, 1220 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30118 Parazzini, Fabio; La Vecchia, Carlo; Mezzanotte, Guerrino; Fedele, Luigi. Maternal cohort, time of stillbirth, and maternal age effects in Italian stillbirth mortality. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 44, No. 2, Jun 1990. 152-4 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"The aim of the study was to investigate factors in stillbirth mortality in Italy....Italian stillbirth data from 1955 to 1979 were analysed...to identify the effcts of maternal birth cohort, calendar period of stillbirth and maternal age....[The authors find that] decreases in stillbirth mortality were marked and steady, starting for the generations born since 1920. A period effect in stillbirth trends was shown, but this was apparently smaller than the cohort trend."
Correspondence: F. Parrazzini, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milan, Italy. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30119 Peeters, R. F.; van der Veen, F. Perinatal and infant mortality according to ethnic group in Belgium/Flanders. [De perinatale- en zuigelingensterfte van etnische minderheden in Belgie/Vlaanderen.] Bevolking en Gezin, No. 1, 1990. 37-53 pp. Brussels, Belgium. In Dut. with sum. in Eng.
Trends in perinatal and infant mortality are examined for Belgium by ethnic group, with a focus on differentials among Turkish and Moroccan migrants and Belgian natives and on regional variations. It is noted that a lack of family planning education directed toward ethnic groups could be the determining factor in higher perinatal mortality within the migrant populations. Data are from two studies covering the period 1981-1986.
Correspondence: R. F. Peeters, Universiteit Antwerpen, Epidemiologie en Sociale Geneeskunde, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

E.3. Infant and Childhood Mortality

56:30120 Aaby, Peter; Molbak, Kare. Siblings of opposite sex as a risk factor for child mortality. British Medical Journal, Vol. 301, No. 6744, Jul 21, 1990. 143-5 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The authors "examine whether contracting an infection from a sibling of the opposite sex affects child mortality....In two studies of twins in Guinea-Bissau we examined whether mixed pairs of twins had a higher mortality than pairs of the same sex. In addition, we report a case-control study examining whether the sex of the older sibling nearest in age affected child mortality."
Correspondence: P. Aaby, University of Copenhagen, Institute of Anthropology, 1220 Copenhagen, Denmark. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30121 Abernethy, Virginia; Yip, Ray. Parent characteristics and sex differential infant mortality: the case in Tennessee. Human Biology, Vol. 62, No. 2, Apr 1990. 279-90 pp. Detroit, Michigan. In Eng.
"Females survive males at most ages in virtually all modern industrialized societies. However, stratification of a sample by socioeconomic indicators shows that white infant male and female postneonatal mortality rates converge as the mothers' or parents' education rises and as the mothers age. These results are congruent with the parental selection hypothesis and with other findings that suggest that families at the pinnacle of the local social structure invest heavily in males and that parents nearing the end of their reproductive career try hard to effect the survival of all offspring." Data are from vital statistics records from the state of Tennessee for the period 1976-1983.
Correspondence: V. Abernethy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Department of Anthropology, Nashville, TN 37232. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30122 Afzal, Mohammad; Raja, Tariq A.; Mohammad, Ali. Some differentials in infant and child mortality risks in Pakistan 1962-1986. Pakistan Development Review, Vol. 27, No. 4, Winter 1988. 635-43 pp. Islamabad, Pakistan. In Eng.
"The objective of this paper is to provide some direct and indirect estimates of infant and child mortality [in Pakistan]...with a view to examining differentials and trends in these estimates." The findings indicate that infant and child mortality trends have declined, male-female differentials have narrowed, and mother's educational status and living conditions in rural areas are important factors in decreasing infant and child mortality. Data are from several Pakistani surveys covering the periods 1962-1965, 1968-1971, 1976-1979, and 1984-1986. Comments by Hussain B. Siyal are included (pp. 643).
Correspondence: M. Afzal, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, P.O. Box 1091, Islamabad, Pakistan. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30123 Bailey, Patricia; Tsui, Amy O.; Janowitz, Barbara; Dominik, Rosalie; Araujo, Lorena. A study of infant mortality and causes of death in a rural north-east Brazilian community. Journal of Biosocial Science, Vol. 22, No. 3, Jul 1990. 349-63 pp. Cambridge, England. In Eng.
"In 1984 a prospective study of 1,645 women and 1,677 births in a rural community in north-eastern Brazil showed the infant mortality rate to be 65 per 1,000 live births. Neonatal, post-neonatal and infant mortality are analysed to determine the most important risk factors for each period. Post-neonatal survival depends largely on factors relating to child care, while neonatal deaths are more likely to be associated with biological factors. The principal cause of death, diarrhoeal disease, was responsible for a third of the deaths."
Correspondence: P. Bailey, Family Health International, 1 Triangle Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30124 Bang, Abhay T.; Bang, Rani A.; Tale, O.; Sontakke, P.; Solanki, J.; Wargantiwar, R.; Kelzarkar, P. Reduction in pneumonia mortality and total childhood mortality by means of community-based intervention trial in Gadchiroli, India. Lancet, Vol. 336, No. 8709, Jul 28, 1990. 201-6 pp. Baltimore, Maryland/London, England. In Eng.
"We studied the morbidity and mortality from acute respiratory infections in children under 5 years old in a rural area and aimed to develop a feasible and effective population-based intervention to reduce pneumonia mortality by at least 30% in 2 years by means of the case-management approach. The study was carried out in the Gadchiroli district, in the central part of India."
Correspondence: A. T. Bang, Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra 442 605, India. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30125 Bledsoe, Caroline H.; Hirschman, Helen K. Case studies of mortality: anthropological contributions. In: International Population Conference/Congres International de la Population, New Delhi, September/septembre 20-27, 1989. Vol. 3, 1989. 331-48 pp. International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
The focus of this study is on anthropological methods that can be useful in the study of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Methods considered include the use of in-depth ethnographic research to accompany wide-scale surveys, follow-up unstructured interviews, case studies that demonstrate how abstract cultural concepts are worked out in the context of real events, and the development of multiple perspectives to determine demographic outcomes.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30126 Bobadilla, Jose L.; Schlaepfer, Loraine; Alagon, Javier. Family formation patterns and child mortality in Mexico. DHS Further Analysis Series, No. 5, Mar 1990. vi, 63 pp. Institute for Resource Development/Macro Systems, Demographic and Health Surveys [DHS]: Columbia, Maryland. In Eng.
"The aim of the present project was to determine the effects of variations in the family formation patterns of Mexican women on late fetal and child mortality. The study consisted of a secondary analysis of the National Fertility and Health Survey conducted in 1987....[and] included 13,216 births occurring in the 15 years prior to the survey....Variations in the family formation patterns and in their relationship with late fetal, neonatal, postneonatal, infant and child mortality were analyzed over time and across a number of social variables....The following are the main conclusions of the study: 1) The groups with the highest late fetal mortality rates are poorly-spaced births to 20-34 year old women...and births to older women age 35 years of age and above; 2) infant mortality among births to teenage mothers is higher than average...; 3) infant mortality rates of births to mothers aged 20-34 years increase as the reproductive pace changes from slow to medium to fast...; [and] important inverse relationships were found between mortality in all periods studied and socioeconomic variables...."
Correspondence: Institute for Resource Development, Demographic and Health Surveys, 8850 Stanford Boulevard, Suite 4000, Columbia, MD 21045. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30127 Chowdhury, Mridul K.; Khan, Nizam U.; Wai, Lokky; Bairagi, Radheshyam. Sex differences and sustained excess in mortality among discordant twins in Matlab, Bangladesh: 1977-1985. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 2, Jun 1990. 387-90 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"This paper reports findings from a study that compared survival of 204 pairs of liveborn twins discordant for sex and a random sample of 2,371 singleton live births from the same population in Matlab, Bangladesh during the period 1977-1985. The discordant twins showed no evidence of sex differential in neonatal survival. They had neonatal mortality of 287 and infant mortality of 468, both per 1,000 live births. These rates were respectively five and four times the rate for singletons in the study. Survival from 12 months through age nine years was similar overall for both discordant twins and singletons for each sex. However, higher female than male mortality was present among discordant twins after the first few months of life. This differential was most prominent during the second year of life and appeared wider than that observed for the singletons."
Correspondence: M. K. Chowdhury, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, GPO Box 128, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30128 Eberstein, Isaac W.; Nam, Charles B.; Hummer, Robert A. Infant mortality by cause of death: main and interaction effects. Demography, Vol. 27, No. 3, Aug 1990. 413-30 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"We examine infant mortality among the 1980-1982 live birth cohorts in the state of Florida, specific to five categories of underlying cause of death: infections, perinatal conditions, delivery complications, congenital malformations, and sudden infant death syndrome....Findings suggest the complexity of variable effects by cause of death and indicate the simultaneous importance of biological and social factors. It is important that the pattern of interactions suggests an overall dependence of infant life chances on social circumstances. It also suggests that these effects are attenuated for some variables and causes of death at lower birth weights, probably due to advances in health care organization, access, and technology."
Correspondence: I. W. Eberstein, Florida State University, Center for the Study of Population, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4063. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30129 Fucaraccio, Angel. Intercensal comparability problems in retrospective infant mortality estimates. [Los problemas de comparabilidad intercensal en las estimaciones retrospectivas de la mortalidad infantil.] Notas de Poblacion, Vol. 17, No. 48, Dec 1989. 81-96 pp. Santiago, Chile. In Spa. with sum. in Eng.
"In the infant mortality estimates, using the Coale-Trussell procedure with information from two successive population censuses of a country, differences in the levels generally appear for the overlapping years of periods. This paper deals with this problem using the census information [for] 1974 and 1982 of Ecuador. The contribution of this analysis consists in demonstrating that infant mortality in a given year--estimated from a specific age group--is a weighted average between zero mortality--women declaring no deaths among their children--and mortality with a value different from zero--women declaring some child dead....A strong increase in the proportion of women without dead children occurred in 1982 as compared with the same proportion in 1974. In order to eliminate this lack of comparability a reweighting was introduced in the 1982 information. New estimates were obtained and they are much closer to those coming from the 1974 census."
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30130 Gosh, Shanti. Child health and survival: its relationship with maternal health. In: Population transition in India, Volume 1, edited by S. N. Singh, M. K. Premi, P. S. Bhatia, and Ashish Bose. 1989. 267-80 pp. B. R. Publishing: Delhi, India. In Eng.
Child health and survival in India and their relationship to maternal health are examined. The author discusses factors affecting child health, including birth weight and gestation, sex bias, maternal age, health care during pregnancy, national health policy and goals, and health services. Also considered are strategies to improve child survival, such as immunization, family planning, utilization of health services, and the care, education, and nurturing of young girls.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30131 Henry, William; Olmstead, Judith. Preliminary childhood death study. Technical Report, No. 07-39, LC 89-621454. May 1989. xi, 70 pp. Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Planning, Evaluation and Professional Development, Office of Research and Data Analysis: Olympia, Washington. In Eng.
"This three-month project built a data base to explore a possible correlation between low income status and children's death rates in Washington....A computer file was built from 1985-86 death certificates of children and youth aged birth to 20 years. Participation in financial assistance programs in the year before death was used as a proxy for low income status....Preliminary analyses of the data base produced twelve tables showing causes of death and death rates per 100,000 for the overall population and selected income, age, sex, and ethnic subgroups."
Correspondence: Department of Social and Health Services, Planning, Evaluation, and Professional Development, Office of Research and Data Analysis, OB-34F, Olympia, WA 98504.

56:30132 Hill, Allan G.; Aguirre, Alejandro. Childhood mortality estimates using the preceding birth technique: some applications and extensions. Population Studies, Vol. 44, No. 2, Jul 1990. 317-40 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"The Preceding Birth Technique has proved to be a simple and effective way of estimating mortality during the first two years of life when the question on survival of the preceding child is asked at the time of a subsequent delivery. This article shows first that earlier worries about significant biases in the estimates are unfounded....Results from a trial in the maternity clinics in Bamako, Mali are presented to illustrate both practical aspects of the method and selection effects by age and parity. A strong association between the survival chances of the succession of children born to one mother emerges. The second part of the article describes how the method can be applied more widely by asking the key questions at times other than a subsequent delivery....Finally, some examples are given of recent use of the question on the survival of the preceding child in household surveys."
Correspondence: A. G. Hill, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Population Studies, 99 Gower Street, London WC1E 6AZ, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30133 Imaizumi, Yoko. Secular trends in infant mortality rates in Japan. Jinko Mondai Kenkyu/Journal of Population Problems, Vol. 46, No. 1, Apr 1990. 1-15 pp. Tokyo, Japan. In Jpn. with sum. in Eng.
"In the present study the infant mortality rates were analyzed according to 10 causes of deaths during the period from 1947 to 1988 in Japan." Causes of death examined include pneumonia, bronchitis, diarrhea, birth trauma, and congenital abnormalities.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30134 Inizan, Juliette; Bouvier-Colle, Marie-Helene. Seasonality in the sudden infant death syndrome. [Caractere saisonnier du syndrome de mort subite du nourrisson.] Population, Vol. 45, No. 1, Jan-Feb 1990. 9-25 pp. Paris, France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng; Spa.
The authors examine seasonality and age factors in deaths attributed to sudden infant death syndrome in France. "The highest risk occurs during the third month of life, especially when this age is reached in winter....The consequence is a very large disproportion in the frequency...among children born in spring, compared with those born in autumn. This disproportion affects the overall infant mortality rate, because the frequency of other causes nowadays rarely depends on the month of the child's birth."
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30135 Kleinman, Joel C. Infant mortality among racial/ethnic minority groups, 1983-1984. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 39, No. SS-3, Jul 1990. 31-9 pp. Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
The author analyzes infant mortality in the United States among racial or ethnic minority groups for the period 1983-1984. "For this report, infant mortality rates (IMRs) are based on the 1983 and 1984 linked birth and infant-death files, and mother's race and Hispanic origin are reported in accordance with information shown on the birth certificates. Overall, Asians have somewhat lower infant mortality rates than whites, but the rates vary from 6.0/1,000 among Japanese mothers to 9.0/1,000 among 'other Asian' mothers. Hispanic mothers show even wider variation: from 7.8/1,000 among Cubans to 12.9/1,000 among Puerto Ricans. Blacks have an IMR twice as high as that for whites, and the rate for American Indians is nearly 60% above the rate for whites....Mexicans have approximately the same IMR (9.0/1,000) as non-Hispanic whites."
Correspondence: J. C. Kleinman, U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Analysis, 3700 East-West Highway, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30136 Lynberg, Michele C.; Khoury, Muin J. Contribution of birth defects to infant mortality among racial/ethnic minority groups, United States, 1983. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 39, No. SS-3, Jul 1990. 1-12 pp. Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
"Linked birth/infant death data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for the 1983 U.S. birth cohort, the latest year for which linked data were available, were evaluated in order to assess the contribution of birth defects to infant mortality among racial/ethnic groups. Of the 34,566 singleton infant deaths with specified birth weight born to U.S. residents, birth defects were listed as an underlying cause of death for 7,678 (22.2%) infants and as a contributing cause of death for an additional 1,006 (2.9%) infants....Proportional mortality due to birth defects varied among racial/ethnic groups; it was greatest among Asians (27%), followed by whites (25%), Hispanics (24%), American Indians (18%), and blacks (13%). Also, infant mortality rates due to birth defects were high among minority infants of low birth weight...."
Correspondence: M. C. Lynberg, Centers for Disease Control, Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Birth Defects and Genetics Disease Branch, Atlanta, GA 30333. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30137 Majumder, A. K. Child survival and its effect on mortality of siblings in Bangladesh. Journal of Biosocial Science, Vol. 22, No. 3, Jul 1990. 333-47 pp. Cambridge, England. In Eng.
"This study of the relationship between mortality risks of siblings born to the same mother shows that, in Bangladesh, the death of the immediately preceding sibling in its infancy has a negative influence on the survival chance of the child in question in its infancy; however, death of the preceding sibling appears to have a positive influence on the index child's survival at ages 1-5 years. Similar results are found for the survival status of the two preceding siblings. Preceding birth interval length and survival status and sex of the immediately preceding sibling are also significant predictors of child mortality between ages 1 and 5 years. Possible explanations may be that the index child faces stronger competition from its immediately preceding brother than from its immediately preceding sister, or that the index child is likely to be looked after more by its preceding sister than by its preceding brother."
Correspondence: A. K. Majumder, Australian National University, National Center for Development Studies, GPO 4, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30138 Nault, Francois; Desjardins, Bertrand; Legare, Jacques. Effects of reproductive behaviour on infant mortality of French-Canadians during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Population Studies, Vol. 44, No. 2, Jul 1990. 273-85 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"In this paper the effects of mother's age, birth order, sibship size, breastfeeding habits of the mother and length of previous birth interval on infant mortality among the French-Canadian population during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are considered. A U-shaped effect of mother's age and a J-shaped effect of birth order are observed. The relation with birth order is shown to hold, even after controlling for sibship size. Study of the effect of sibship size leads to a relation between the fates of siblings and definition of a familial component in infant mortality. A significant factor in that familial component is the breastfeeding habit of the mother. Finally, some examples are given to recent use of the question on survival of the preceding child in household surveys."
Correspondence: F. Nault, University of Montreal, Department of Demography, CP 6128, Succursale A, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30139 Powell-Griner, Eve; Woolbright, Albert. Trends in infant deaths from congenital anomalies: results from England and Wales, Scotland, Sweden and the United States. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 2, Jun 1990. 391-8 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Major strides have been made in reducing infant mortality in many parts of the world. As the number of infants dying from infectious diseases has declined, further reductions will require progress in reducing mortality in less tractable causes of death. As a result, the proportion of infant deaths attributable to congenital anomalies has been rising. Mortality due to different types of congenital anomalies is examined for the period 1976-1985 in the United States, England and Wales, Scotland and Sweden."
Correspondence: E. Powell-Griner, U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Office of Vital and Health Statistics Systems, 3700 East-West Highway, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30140 Quine, Susan. Problems in comparing findings on social class cross-culturally--applied to infant mortality (Australia and Britain). Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 30, No. 12, 1990. 1,283-8 pp. Elmsford, New York/Oxford, England. In Eng.
"This article addresses methodological problems in conducting cross-cultural comparisons of health findings analysed by social class. It then illustrates these problems by describing the difficulties faced and the methods adopted to conduct a cross-cultural comparison between Australia and Britain for infant mortality data analysed by social class. The specific findings on social class and infant mortality are reported, and the wider implications for cross-cultural research discussed."
Correspondence: S. Quine, University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. Location: Princeton University Library (PR).

56:30141 Roth, Eric A.; Kurup, K. Balan. Child mortality levels and survival patterns from southern Sudan. Journal of Biosocial Science, Vol. 22, No. 3, Jul 1990. 365-72 pp. Cambridge, England. In Eng.
"Data from a 1985 survey in two major population centres in Southern Sudan, Juba and Wau, were analysed in order to assess childhood mortality levels and the effect of UNICEF's health care programme. There are continuing high levels of childhood mortality. Logistic regression analysis shows significant positive associations between child survival and immunization, oral rehydration therapy and maternal education."
Correspondence: E. A. Roth, University of Victoria, Department of Anthropology, POB 1700, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30142 Roy, S. Guha. Estimating child mortality and modelling its age pattern for India. Janasamkhya, Vol. 7, No. 1, Jun 1989. 21-39 pp. Kariavattom, India. In Eng.
"Using data [for India] on proportions of children dead...estimates of infant and child mortality are...obtained by Sullivan and Trussell modifications of [the] Brass basic method. The estimate of child survivorship function derived after logit smoothing appears to be more reliable than that obtained by the Census Actuary. The age pattern of childhood mortality is suitably modelled by [a] Weibull function defining the probability of surviving from birth to a specified age and involving two parameters of level and shape. A recently developed linearization procedure based on [a] graphical approach is adopted for estimating the parameters of the function."
Correspondence: S. G. Roy, Indian Statistical Institute, Social Sciences Division, Population Studies Unit, 203 Barrackpore Trunk Road, Calcutta 700 035, India. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30143 Streatfield, Kim; Singarimbun, Masri; Diamond, Ian. Maternal education and child immunization. Demography, Vol. 27, No. 3, Aug 1990. 447-55 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
The impact of maternal education on the risk of infant and child mortality is analyzed. "This article explores the hypothesis that formal education of women results in increased child survival because of greater knowledge of the protective function of the major childhood immunizations. Education is also associated with greater awareness of proper immunization schedules. Irrespective of mother's formal education level, specific immunization knowledge is associated with an increased likelihood of using immunization. The Indonesian analysis is important as a model for preventive health campaigns among other populations with low education levels among women."
Correspondence: K. Streatfield, Australian National University, Demography Department, Child Survival Project, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30144 United Nations. Department of International Economic and Social Affairs (New York, New York). Step-by-step guide to the estimation of child mortality. Population Studies, No. 107; ST/ESA/SER.A/107, Pub. Order No. E.89.XIII.9. ISBN 92-1-151183-6. 1990. vii, 83 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"The aim of this Guide is to provide the reader with all the information necessary to apply two methods for the estimation of child mortality. It does not presuppose familiarity with demography or with basic demographic measures. The reader is introduced to the basic concepts encountered in the measurement of mortality, the typical indicators of mortality in childhood, the rationale underlying the methods described and the data required for their application....The first [chapter] discusses mortality measurement in general; the next five are devoted to different aspects of the Brass method; and the last focuses on the procedure proposed by Brass and Macrae....The Guide is accompanied by a program for microcomputers, named QFIVE, that applies both the Trussell and the Palloni-Heligman versions of the Brass method."
Correspondence: U.N. Department of International Economic and Social Affairs, New York, NY 10017. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30145 United States. Centers for Disease Control [CDC] (Atlanta, Georgia). Fatal injuries to children--United States, 1986. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 39, No. 26, Jul 6, 1990. 442-5, 451 pp. Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
"As part of the Injury Prevention Act of 1986, Congress requested that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through CDC [Centers for Disease Control], analyze the causes and incidence of childhood injuries in the United States....The Secretary's report, Childhood Injuries in the United States: A Report to Congress, was presented to Congress in October 1989....This report summarizes mortality data from Childhood Injuries in the United States for children (defined as persons aged...19 years [or less]) from the five leading causes of fatal injuries to children in the United States in 1986 (i.e., motor vehicle crashes, homicide, suicide, drowning, and fires/burns)."
Correspondence: Centers for Disease Control, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30146 United States. Centers for Disease Control [CDC] (Atlanta, Georgia). Infant mortality by marital status of mother--United States, 1983. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 39, No. 30, Aug 3, 1990. 521-3 pp. Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
Infant and neonatal mortality rates by mother's age, race, and marital status for 1983 in the United States are presented. The focus is on the impact of marital status on infant mortality.
Correspondence: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30147 USSR. Gosudarstvennyi Komitet SSSR po Statistike (Moscow, USSR). Infant mortality. [Mladencheskaya smertnost'.] Vestnik Statistiki, No. 4, 1990. 61-3 pp. Moscow, USSR. In Rus.
Infant mortality is considered as a major indicator of the overall level of health in the USSR. Death rates are provided by rural and urban areas and by causes of death. Causes of death are analyzed by republic.
Correspondence: Gosudarstvennyi Komitet SSSR po Statistike, ul. Kirova 39, 103450 Moscow, USSR. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30148 Zaidi, Akbar. Explanations for high levels of infant mortality in Pakistan--a dissenting view. Pakistan Development Review, Vol. 28, No. 3, Autumn 1989. 251-7 pp. Islamabad, Pakistan. In Eng.
The author critiques a paper by Zeba A. Sathar concerning the relationship between poverty and the infant mortality rate in Pakistan. The focus is on the socioeconomic determinants of fertility decline and policy implications. A reply by Sathar is included (pp. 258-9).
For the original article by Sathar, published in 1987, see 54:10179.
Correspondence: A. Zaidi, Applied Economic Research Centre, Karachi, Pakistan. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

E.4. Mortality at Other Ages

56:30149 Coale, Ansley J.; Kisker, Ellen E. Defects in data on old-age mortality in the United States: new procedures for calculating mortality schedules and life tables at the highest ages. Asian and Pacific Population Forum, Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1990. 32 pp. Honolulu, Hawaii. In Eng.
The authors study "old-age mortality data, with the aim of revealing any systematic defects in such data for the U.S. population, and with the further aim of correcting such defects and calculating an acceptable schedule of age-specific mortality rates and life table values for the very aged....We have found evidence...that death rates as calculated from vital statistics and the census seriously understate the true rates at ages over 95. We also find evidence...that directly calculated death rates may be too low at ages from 70 to 95....The principal source of understatement of death rates at older ages is exaggeration of age, both the age recorded in the census and the registered age at death."
Correspondence: A. J. Coale, Princeton University, Office of Population Research, 21 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08544-2091. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

E.5. Life Tables

56:30150 Devis, Tim. The expectation of life in England and Wales. Population Trends, No. 60, Summer 1990. 23-4 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"This article briefly describes the history of life tables in England and Wales and the derivation of life expectancy. It is linked to a new table which will in future appear regularly in Population Trends showing life expectancies for the United Kingdom and its constituent countries."
Correspondence: T. Devis, Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Medical Statistics Division, St. Catherines House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2 6JP, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30151 Mesle, France; Vallin, Jacques. Reconstitution of annual mortality tables in nineteenth-century France. [Reconstitution de tables annuelles de mortalite pour la France au XIXe siecle.] Population, Vol. 44, No. 6, Nov-Dec 1989. 1,121-58 pp. Paris, France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng; Spa.
The authors construct a complete series of mortality tables by single years of age for each calendar year for nineteenth-century France. "We first calculated quinquennial age-specific mortality rates for each year by comparing the deaths recorded in the civil registers with the population in the middle of the year obtained by interpolating...reconstituted figures. We then disaggregated these quinquennial rates into single years of age using the only two periods during the century (1851-1856 and 1896-1901) for which detailed data both from censuses and civil registers were available. Finally, for the period of the Napoleonic wars, we corrected these rates for military losses at different ages. The result was a complete series of annual tables from 1806 to 1898, covering almost all of the initial period of transition in life expectancy."
Correspondence: F. Mesle, Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex 14, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

E.6. Differential Mortality

56:30152 Anderson, Barbara A.; Silver, Brian D.; Liu, Jinyun. The mortality of ethnic groups in northern China and Soviet central Asia. Population Studies Center Research Report, No. 89-158, Sep 1989. 25, [12] pp. University of Michigan, Population Studies Center: Ann Arbor, Michigan. In Eng.
"The main goal of this study is to derive ethnic group-specific mortality indicators for certain minority populations of the PRC [People's Republic of China] and the USSR. We estimate infant mortality rates for the indigenous population of six traditionally Moslem union republics of the Soviet Union, and we estimate the infant mortality rate of the non-Han population in two autonomous regions of northern China: Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and Neimenggu Autonomous Region (Inner Mongolia). We also dicuss mortality at older ages for the minority populations in these regions."
Correspondence: University of Michigan, Population Studies Center, 1225 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2590. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30153 Blane, David; Smith, George D.; Bartley, Mel. Social class differences in years of potential life lost: size, trends, and principal causes. British Medical Journal, Vol. 301, No. 6749, Sep 1, 1990. 429-32 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"British social class differences in mortality are examined in terms of years of potential life lost, a measure that gives more weight to deaths that take place at younger ages. It shows wider class differences during the years of working life than those found when mortality is expressed in terms of standardised mortality ratios. Examination of the change in class differences between 1971 and 1981 for all causes of death combined and for the three categories of death which during these ages make major contribution to total years of potential life lost shows complex changes."
Correspondence: D. Blane, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Behavioural Sciences Unit, London W6 8RP, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30154 Camposortega Cruz, Sergio. Mortality in Mexico. Some considerations on rural-urban differentials. [Mortalidad en Mexico. Algunas consideraciones sobre los differenciales urbano-rurales.] Estudios Demograficos y Urbanos, Vol. 4, No. 3, Sep-Dec 1989. 573-93, 627 pp. Mexico City, Mexico. In Spa. with sum. in Eng.
"In this essay, certain aspects related to rural-urban mortality differentials in Mexico are analyzed....[These include] the availability, advantages, and limitations of different sources of information and the disparity of levels and tendencies according to particular indicators of acceptable reliability, especially those deriving from recent demographic surveys conducted in Mexico. The findings confirm an inverse ratio between size of settlement and mortality, and reveal a widening of the differentials over time."
Correspondence: S. Composortega Cruz, El Colegio de Mexico, Centro de Estudios Demograficos y de Desarrollo Urbano, Camino Al Ajusco 20, 10740 Mexico DF, Mexico. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30155 Carlson, Elwood. European contrasts in sex ratios: implications for living arrangements in old age. European Journal of Population/Revue Europeenne de Demographie, Vol. 6, No. 2, Jul 1990. 117-41 pp. Amsterdam, Netherlands. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
Variations among European countries in male and female mortality by age group and the impact of historical events on these variations are explored. The sex ratio and marital status of the aged and their effect on social policy are discussed.
Correspondence: E. Carlson, University of South Carolina, Department of Sociology, Columbia, SC 29208. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30156 Das Gupta, Monica. The effects of discrimination on health and mortality. In: International Population Conference/Congres International de la Population, New Delhi, September/septembre 20-27, 1989. Vol. 3, 1989. 349-65 pp. International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This paper places the discussion of sex differentials in mortality in the general context of social discrimination and inequality. It argues that all societies categorise their members into dominant and marginal subgroups. These classifications are frequently based on class, ethnicity, age and gender, but go further to include other categories such as illigitimate children, who are classified as moral outcasts. The marginal groups suffer social discrimination, underpinned by discriminatory practices which work towards making these people economically disadvantaged....A review of the evidence on differentials in health status and mortality suggests that they result from society's lesser degree of interest in ensuring the welfare and survival of its more marginal members as compared with its more dominant ones."
Correspondence: M. Das Gupta, National Council of Applied Economic Research, Parisila Bhavan 11, Indraprastha Estate, New Delhi 110 002, India. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30157 Desenclos, Jean-Claude; Michel, Dominique; Tholly, Francoise; Magdi, Ibrahim; Pecoul, Bernard; Desve, Gilles. Mortality trends among refugees in Honduras, 1984-1987. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 2, Jun 1990. 367-73 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Mortality data collected from 1984 to 1987 through a routine standardized health information system in the five main refugee populations of Honduras were reviewed. The direct standardized mean annual death rate for all refugees was 5.5 per 1,000 population...." Differences in trends in general, neonatal, infant, and under-five-year-old mortality are analyzed, and principal causes of death are identified. The possibility of using various preventive measures to reduce mortality is discussed.
Correspondence: J.-C. Desenclos, Epicentre, 8 rue St. Sabin, 75011 Paris, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30158 Doornbos, G.; Kromhout, D. Educational level and mortality in a 32-year follow-up study of 18-year-old men in the Netherlands. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 2, Jun 1990. 374-9 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Social inequities and their relation to health form a topic of growing concern in the Netherlands. The present investigation on educational level and mortality was carried out in a cohort of men born in 1932, examined for military service in 1950/1951 and for whom vital statistics could be obtained. In the group of 78,505 men, 3,456 deaths occurred during the follow-up until 31 December 1981. A life table analysis revealed an inverse relation between educational level and survival. In a multivariate logistic regression model the confounding effects of height and health score were taken into account. In addition to all-cause mortality, the relationships of educational level and mortality from coronary heart disease, cancer and accidents consistently showed an inverse pattern. The applicability of the results elsewhere is discussed."
Correspondence: D. Kromhout, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM), Department of Epidemiology, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, Netherlands. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30159 Geronimus, Arline T.; Bound, John. Black/white differences in women's reproductive-related health status: evidence from vital statistics. Demography, Vol. 27, No. 3, Aug 1990. 457-66 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"Maternal-age-specific neonatal mortality risk [in the United States] differs by race, with the mid-20s risk low for whites but not blacks. This may be partially due to worsening health for black relative to white women. We analyzed deaths to young women in the aggregate and classified by causes that are also pregnancy risk factors. Over the predominant childbearing ages, mortality increases for blacks exceeded those for whites, usually by at least 25%. These indicators that black/white health differences widen as women progress through young adulthood suggest that such discrepancies may play a role in the black/white infant mortality differential, which merits further research."
Correspondence: A. T. Geronimus, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Department of Public Health Policy and Administration, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30160 Ginsberg, Caren A. Sex-specific mortality and the economic value of children in nineteenth-century Massachusetts. Garland Studies in Historical Demography, ISBN 0-8240-4351-0. LC 89-29417. 1989. xii, 200 pp. Garland Publishing: New York, New York/London, England. In Eng.
"This study establishes a relationship between sex-specific economic opportunities, social status, and childhood mortality. Specifically, I assume that in areas and times in which the economic contributions of children are important to the household, the status of children is determined by the availability of economic opportunities for them. I examine the possibility that economic opportunities are an important determinant of the resources that parents invest in children; specifically, that parents invest more resources in children with greater opportunities to contribute to the household income....This study examines rural-urban differences in sex-specific mortality patterns using data from late nineteenth century Massachusetts. Age- and sex-specific death rates are analyzed on both the county and community levels to determine the regional and local magnitude of mortality differentials. Using cause of death data and historical sources, I offer presumptive evidence of differential treatment of boys and girls. Additional support for the suggestion of differential care comes from analogous situations in contemporary developing countries and from the historical experience in Western Europe."
Correspondence: Garland Publishing, 136 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30161 Koohi-Kamali, Feridoon. The pattern of female mortality in Iran and some of its causes. Applied Economics Discussion Paper, No. 62, Nov 1988. 31 pp. University of Oxford, Institute of Economics and Statistics: Oxford, England. In Eng.
"This paper provides various demographic indicators which demonstrate the existence and patterns of excess female mortality in Iran, shown to be particularly pronounced among small girls. Some similarities are pointed out between Iran and India, especially a turning point in female mortality around the age of 35. Female employment, an important factor for women's welfare, is found to be uniformly low throughout the different provinces of Iran."
Correspondence: University of Oxford, Institute of Economics and Statistics, St. Cross Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30162 Kotler, Pamela L. Having it all: multiple roles and mortality. Garland Studies in Historical Demography, ISBN 0-8240-3997-1. LC 89-29421. 1989. 223, [7] pp. Garland Publishing: New York, New York/London, England. In Eng.
"This study investigates the impact of combining marital, parental, and occupational roles upon the risk of mortality among 3,700 men and women living in Alameda County, California. These men and women...completed a comprehensive medical and psychosocial questionnaire in 1965 and were then followed over the next eighteen years to ascertain their mortality status....In this study, I examined whether women who had been employed outside the home for a substantial part of their lives died earlier than women who were housewives."
Correspondence: Garland Publishing, 136 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30163 Kunst, A. E.; Looman, C. W. N.; Mackenbach, J. P. Socio-economic mortality differences in the Netherlands in 1950-1984: a regional study of cause-specific mortality. Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 31, No. 2, 1990. 141-52 pp. New York, New York/Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The finding that mortality differences between occupational classes in England and Wales have widened during the postwar period raises the question whether a similar development has occurred in other industrialised countries. In this paper, a comparison is made with results from a geographical study on the Netherlands. This study compares four periods between 1950 and 1984 by means of a standard regional division, a single socio-economic index, uniform cause-of-death groups and a standard regression procedure. During the postwar period, the relationship between socio-economic level and all-cause mortality has become (more) negative. This development can to a large extent be attributed to 'negative' trends for lung cancer, diabetes mellitus, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and traffic accidents....It is concluded that socio-economic mortality differences in England and Wales and the Netherlands have probably developed similarly in various respects."
Correspondence: A. E. Kunst, Erasmus University, Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, Netherlands. Location: Princeton University Library (PR).

56:30164 Martikainen, Pekka T. Unemployment and mortality among Finnish men, 1981-5. British Medical Journal, Vol. 301, No. 6749, Sep 1, 1990. 407-11 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The author examines the relationship between unemployment and mortality in Finnish men using data from a study of men aged 30-54 conducted during 1981-1985. Controlling for background variables including age, socioeconomic status, marital status, and health, the author finds "unemployment...seems to have an independent causal effect on male mortality."
Correspondence: P. T. Martikainen, University of Helsinki, Department of Sociology, Hameentie 68 B, 00550 Helsinki, Finland. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30165 Rosenwaike, Ira. Mortality patterns among elderly American Jews. Journal of Aging and Judaism, Vol. 4, No. 4, Summer 1990. 289-303 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"Mortality studies of ethnic and religious subgroups within a nation are of interest as they provide indicators of health differentials that may result from differences in life style and risk-factor exposures. The mortality experience of North American Jews has been documented over many years and is of particular interest because of the unusual pattern that has been observed, a crossover from relatively low rates at younger ages to relatively high rates at older ages. This study examines mortality in 1979-81 among more than 100,000 Medicare enrollees who held 22 surnames common among American Jews. The findings substantiate those of a recent mortality study of a Canadian Jewish population which indicated more rapid improvement in life expectancy among elderly Jewish than non-Jewish males, and a lessening of the relative disadvantage of elderly Jewish women."
Correspondence: I. Rosenwaike, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Social Work, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30166 Shkol'nikov, V. M. Geographical aspects of life expectancy. [Geograficheskie faktory prodolzhitel'nosti zhizni.] Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR: Seriya Geograficheskaya, No. 3, 1987. 35-45 pp. Moscow, USSR. In Rus.
The author discusses the research methodology used to investigate regional variations in life expectancy. Several methods for the analysis of the correlation between life expectancy and various socioeconomic and environmental factors are described.
Location: Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, NH.

56:30167 Wunsch, Guillaume; Lopez-Rios, Olga. Space-time methods for the study of regional differences in mortality. Institut de Demographie Working Paper, No. 149, ISBN 2-87085-204-5. Oct 1989. 15 pp. CIACO Editeur: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Universite Catholique de Louvain, Institut de Demographie: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
"Methods for the study of regional differences in mortality have to take both space and time into account. The article points out some possible approaches, and several of the difficulties involved. The problem of spatial and serial autocorrelations has to be solved, as well as that of multicollinearity between time-dependent causal variables. One must also avoid ecological fallacies, take account of changes in the definitions of the variables over time, and check for structural changes in the model itself from one period to another. The lags between causal variables and mortality have to be postulated, as well as the duration of exposure to the risk factors."
Correspondence: CIACO Editeur, 1 Place Montesquieu, Boite 17, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

E.7. Mortality by Cause

56:30168 Ali, Syed M.; Nasir, Zafar M. Gains in life expectancy by elimination of specified causes of death in Pakistan. Pakistan Development Review, Vol. 27, No. 4, Winter 1988. 645-53 pp. Islamabad, Pakistan. In Eng.
"The present study is an attempt to examine the gains in life expectancy at birth as well as for other broad age groups [in Pakistan] by eliminating specified causes of death." Life tables are constructed based on causes of death using data from the 1984 Pakistan Demographic Survey. Results reveal that the elimination of mortality due to childhood diseases, infective and parasitic diseases, and water-borne diseases could raise the average length of life considerably. Comments by M. N. Iqbal Farooqui are included (pp. 652-3).
Correspondence: S. M. Ali, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, P.O. Box 1091, Islamabad, Pakistan. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30169 Blum, Alain; Monnier, Alain. Causes of mortality in the Soviet Union. [La mortalite selon la cause en Union Sovietique.] Population, Vol. 44, No. 6, Nov-Dec 1989. 1,053-100 pp. Paris, France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng; Spa.
This is an examination of causes of death by age and of high mortality rates in the Soviet Union in 1985. Findings indicate that relatively low mortality from cancers contrasts sharply with high mortality from cardiovascular diseases. A high percentage of male deaths is attributed to alcoholism, accidents, poisonings, and suicides. High child mortality rates exist due to death by infectious diseases.
Correspondence: A. Blum, Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex 14, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30170 Buehler, James W.; Devine, Owen J.; Berkelman, Ruth L.; Chevarley, Frances M. Impact of the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic on mortality trends in young men, United States. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 80, No. 9, Sep 1990. 1,080-6 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"Following a long-term decline, [U.S.] death rates in men 25-44 years of age increased from 212 deaths/100,000 in 1983 to 236 deaths/100,000 in 1987. To assess the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections on this trend and to identify causes that are increasing in association with the HIV epidemic, we analyzed national mortality statistics and compared death rates in states with high and low incidence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)....[Findings reveal that] the HIV epidemic has led to a reversal in mortality trends and to increases in various causes of death for young men."
Correspondence: J. W. Buehler, Centers for Disease Control, Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of HIV/AIDS, Atlanta, GA 30333. Location: Princeton University Library (PR).

56:30171 Curtin, Philip D. The end of the "white man's grave"? Nineteenth-century mortality in West Africa. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 21, No. 1, Summer 1990. 63-88 pp. Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Eng.
The main causes of death among French and British military personnel during the nineteenth century in West Africa, the West Indies, and Southern Asia are compared. "The present question is: when and to what extent did West Africa ever become a safe place for European newcomers? [The author finds that]....the fall of tropical African death rates was largely a result of declining deaths from malaria, and the improvement was concentrated in two periods. The first, centered on 1839 for Senegal and on 1875 for British West Africa, was mainly brought about by the introduction of quinine. The second, from 1902 to 1914, followed the discovery of the mosquito as the vector for malaria and improvements stemming from the germ theory of disease."
Correspondence: P. D. Curtin, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30172 Davis, Devra L.; Hoel, David; Fox, John; Lopez, Alan. International trends in cancer mortality in France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, England and Wales, and the USA. Lancet, Vol. 336, No. 8713, Aug 25, 1990. 474-81 pp. Baltimore, Maryland/London, England. In Eng.
"Age-specific worldwide trends in cancer mortality are reviewed, with emphasis on cancer sites where increases have been reported in the USA. Cancer rates vary by factors as high as 30 between all countries, and 5-fold within and between industrialised countries. In Italy, Japan, Federal Republic of Germany, England and Wales, [France,] and the USA, patterns of cancer mortality have shifted uniformly over the past two decades. Stomach cancer continues to decline, while brain and other central-nervous-system cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and melanoma have increased in persons aged 55 and older. Cancer of the lung is starting to decline for men under age 85 and women under age 60 in England and Wales and men under age 45 in the USA, but is still rising for men and women in other countries. All forms of cancer are increasing in persons over age 54 except lung and stomach....Studies of the quality of ascertainment and enumeration indicate that these increases are not attributable solely to diagnostic artifacts or to increased access to health care, although both these factors may be involved."
Correspondence: D. L. Davis, National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20418. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30173 Filippi, Veronique; Graham, Wendy. Estimating maternal mortality using the sisterhood method. [Estimer la mortalite maternelle a l'aide de la methode des soeurs.] Les Dossiers du CEPED, No. 13, ISBN 2-87762-014-X. Jul 1990. 29 pp. Centre Francais sur la Population et le Developpement [CEPED]: Paris, France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng.
"The sisterhood method is a new indirect technique for deriving population-based estimates of maternal mortality, relevant in developing countries where alternative data sources and approaches to estimation are inadequate or inappropriate. The different steps involved in its application are described and illustrated with data collected during its first field trial in The Gambia."
Correspondence: Centre Francais sur la Population et le Developpement, 15 rue de l'Ecole de Medecine, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30174 Hogberg, Ulf; Wall, Stig. Reproductive mortality and its relation to different methods of birth control. Journal of Biosocial Science, Vol. 22, No. 3, Jul 1990. 323-31 pp. Cambridge, England. In Eng.
"This report evaluates the decrease in maternal mortality and its relation to family planning methods in Sweden during the years 1911-80. In the 1930s fertility was low but illegal abortions were at a high level and the associated maternal death rate was 18.5 per 1,000 women. With the legalization of abortion and the introduction of modern contraceptive methods, the crude reproductive mortality rate in 1965-70 was 1.7 per 100,000 women and this was reduced still further, especially for younger women, by the late 1970s. Standardized reproductive mortality was then 80% higher than the crude rate, indicating the importance of modern family planning methods. Mortality associated with oral contraceptive or IUD use in Sweden during the 1960s and 1970s was lower than in England and the U.S. Mortality associated with sterilization was 6.2 per 100,000 procedures."
Correspondence: U. Hogberg, Umea University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, S-901 87 Umea, Sweden. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30175 Horner, Ronnie D. Cancer mortality in Native Americans in North Carolina. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 80, No. 8, Aug 1990. 940-4 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This paper describes age-adjusted mortality from malignant neoplasms for Native Americans in North Carolina for 1968-72 and 1978-82. Sex-specific standardized mortality ratios were calculated from death certificate data, using the cancer mortality experience of White North Carolinians to obtain the number of expected deaths. For most categories and specific sites of cancer, mortality was at or below the expected level, but higher than expected mortality was found for genitourinary cancers in males...for the 1978-82 period; within this category, there was a higher than expected level of mortality from prostate cancer...and cancer of the penis and other male genital organs....Female Native Americans had an elevated mortality from cervical cancer...for the 1968-72 period only."
Correspondence: R. D. Horner, East Carolina University, School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Brody Building 4N-51, Greenville, NC 27858-4354. Location: Princeton University Library (PR).

56:30176 Jackson, Rodney; Stewart, Alistair; Beaglehole, Robert. Trends in coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity in Auckland, New Zealand, 1974-1986. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 2, Jun 1990. 279-83 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Routine mortality statistics show that coronary heart disease (CHD) death rates have declined consistently in Auckland men since 1968; in women, death rates declined between 1968 and 1986 but since 1981 there may have been a reduction in the rate of decline. Data from CHD registers conducted in Auckland, New Zealand in 1974, 1981, and since 1983 as part of the WHO MONICA Project, have been used to investigate the validity and reasons for the decline in the age group 35-64 years....The decline in CHD mortality in men without a concomitant change in case fatality and the lack of recent decline in women, suggest that changes in the natural history of the disease rather than treatment are responsible for the mortality trends."
Correspondence: R. Jackson, University of Auckland, Department of Community Health, School of Medicine, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30177 Logue, Everett E.; Jarjoura, David. Modeling heart disease mortality with census tract rates and social class mixtures. Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 31, No. 5, 1990. 545-50 pp. Elmsford, New York/Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The relationship between social class and 1980 heart disease (HD) mortality in eight urban U.S. counties was examined by regressing age and sex adjusted census tract specific HD rates (N = 1,211) on tract social class characteristics. The regression model indicated that lower middle class residents experienced a HD mortality rate 1.9...times the rate in the upper middle/middle class, while the working poor experienced a HD rate 4.4...times the rate in the referent class. Similar class effects were seen for both black and nonblack residents. The crude race effect...was explainable by the concentration of blacks in the lower classes. The methods illustrate the ecologic regression of mixtures of mortality rates on mixtures of exposure in the presence of random tract effects which eliminates some of the problems associated with small denominators or zero rates in some tracts."
Correspondence: E. E. Logue, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Division of Community Health Sciences, P.O. Box 95, 4209 Route 44, Rootstown, OH 44272. Location: Princeton University Library (PR).

56:30178 Lopez, Alan D. Causes of death: an assessment of global patterns of mortality around 1985. World Health Statistics Quarterly/Rapport Trimestriel de Statistiques Sanitaires Mondiales, Vol. 43, No. 2, 1990. 91-104 pp. Geneva, Switzerland. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
"The approach followed in this article to estimating the global mortality situation around 1985 is one of progressively assembling nationally representative mortality patterns according to the degree of confidence in their reliability. Thus the first section of this article deals exclusively with the industrialized countries...." A second section describes estimated cause-of-death patterns in developing countries around 1985. Data are from the World Health Organization and from individual countries.
Correspondence: A. D. Lopez, World Health Organization, Division of Epidemiological Surveillance and Health Situation and Trend Assessment, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30179 Lopez, Alan D. Who dies of what? A comparative analysis of mortality conditions in developed countries around 1987. World Health Statistics Quarterly/Rapport Trimestriel de Statistiques Sanitaires Mondiales, Vol. 43, No. 2, 1990. 105-14 pp. Geneva, Switzerland. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
Causes of death in developed countries are examined for 1987. "Of the 11 million deaths reported in the developed countries each year, roughly 5.5 million or almost exactly 50% are attributable to cardiovascular diseases....Cancer (all forms) accounts for 2.3 million deaths (21%), 500,000 of which are due to lung cancer alone. External causes of death claim 750,000 lives each year...with suicide and motor-vehicle accidents each accounting for around 180,000 deaths." The author emphasizes the differentials in health status and life expectancy among countries. Data are from the World Health Organization.
Correspondence: A. D. Lopez, World Health Organization, Division of Epidemiological Surveillance and Health Situation and Trends Assessment, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30180 Mackenbach, J. P.; Bouvier-Colle, M. H.; Jougla, E. "Avoidable" mortality and health services: a review of aggregate data studies. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 44, No. 2, Jun 1990. 106-11 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"The aim of the study was to review published work reporting mortality [around the world] from conditions amenable to medical intervention and compare the methods used and results obtained....[Findings indicate that] the low levels of mortality from amenable causes which presently prevail in industrialised countries are likely to reflect, at least in part, the increased effectiveness of health services; geographical variation in mortality from amenable causes has not yet been shown to reflect differences in effectiveness of health services; and if geographical variation in avoidable mortality does reflect such differences, they must arise from circumstances other than the level of supply...and are probably closely related to socioeconomic circumstances."
Correspondence: J. P. Mackenbach, Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, Erasmus University Medical School, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, Netherlands. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30181 Menotti, A.; Keys, A.; Blackburn, H.; Aravanis, C.; Dontas, A.; Fidanza, F.; Giampaoli, S.; Karvonen, M.; Kromhout, D.; Nedeljkovic, S.; Nissinen, A.; Pekkanen, J.; Punsar, S.; Seccareccia, F.; Toshima, H. Twenty-year stroke mortality and prediction in twelve cohorts of the Seven Countries Study. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 2, Jun 1990. 309-15 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Twelve cohorts of men aged 40-59 for a total of 8,287 individuals in six countries (Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece and Japan) were examined in the late 1950s or early 1960s for the measurement of some risk factors and then followed up for mortality and causes of death through 20 years. Large differences in 20-year death rates from stroke were recorded among cohorts, with the highest levels in the pool of the Yugoslavia (67 per 1,000) and Japanese cohorts (62 per 1,000) and the lowest in the Dutch cohort (22 per 1,000)....The Cox model solved for six national pools of cohorts showed that only age and mean blood pressure carry significant positive coefficients, whereas all the other available factors (cigarette consumption, serum cholesterol, body mass index, physical activity) did not approach significant levels except the negative coefficients of smoking habits in Greece."
Correspondence: A. Menotti, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Viale Regina Elena 299, I-00161 Rome, Italy. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30182 Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (New York, New York). Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the United States, 1987. Statistical Bulletin, Vol. 71, No. 3, Jul-Sep 1990. 20-6 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
Mortality caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the United States is analyzed by age, sex, and region. "Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and allied conditions (COPD) continue to be the fifth leading cause of U.S. mortality. In 1987 the age-adjusted death rate was 18.7 for the entire country....Tobacco smoking is considered the major cause of COPD, and in its absence, COPD would be uncommon."
Correspondence: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, One Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30183 Muldoon, Matthew F.; Manuck, Stephen B.; Matthews, Karen A. Lowering cholesterol concentrations and mortality: a quantitative review of primary prevention trials. British Medical Journal, Vol. 301, No. 6747, Aug 11, 1990. 309-14 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The authors "test the hypothesis that reducing cholesterol concentrations lowers both total and cause specific mortality....We examined the effects of lowering cholesterol concentrations in primary prevention trials on total mortality and on death attributable to coronary heart disease, cancer, and causes not related to illness (predominantly accidents, violence, and suicide)...." Data were taken from six primary prevention trials covering 24,847 male patients in several countries. "Mortality from coronary heart disease tended to be lower in men receiving interventions to reduce cholesterol concentrations compared with mortality in control subjects...although total mortality was not affected by treatment. No consistent relation was found between reduction of cholesterol concentrations and mortality from cancer, but there was a significant increase in deaths not related to illness...in groups receiving treatment to lower cholesterol concentrations relative to controls...."
Correspondence: M. F. Muldoon, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30184 Osmond, C.; Barker, D. J. P.; Slattery, J. M. Risk of death from cardiovascular disease and chronic bronchitis determined by place of birth in England and Wales. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 44, No. 2, Jun 1990. 139-41 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"The aim of the study was to examine the relation between place of birth within England and Wales and cause of death....The survey involved almost 2 million people who died in England and Wales between April 1969 and December 1972. [Results indicate that] persons born in northern counties and industrial towns, and in Wales, had increased risk of ischaemic heart disease and stroke, which persisted whether or not they had moved to other parts of the country. A low risk of cardiovascular disease among people born in and around London went with them when they moved. People born in cities and large towns had an increased and persisting risk of chronic bronchitis."
Correspondence: C. Osmond, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, MRC Epidemiology Unit, Southampton S09 4XY, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30185 Park, Hyeoun-Ae. A multistate model for coronary heart disease--an application to different prevention strategies. Journal of Population and Health Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2, Dec 1989. 159-74 pp. Seoul, Korea, Republic of. In Eng. with sum. in Kor.
"The discrete-time stochastic model presented in this paper pays attention [to] the association between physiological risk factors and [coronary heart disease] morbidity as well as mortality trends. Transition probabilities are modeled as a polychotomous logistic function of risk factors. A series of separate simple logistic regression analyses...are performed as a replacement for estimating polychotomous logistic regression parameters. Data from the Finnish North Karelia Project is used to test the model."
Correspondence: H.-A. Park, Korea Institute for Population and Health, San 42-14, Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyung-du, Seoul 122-040, Republic of Korea. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30186 Pekkanen, Juha; Linn, Shai; Heiss, Gerardo; Suchindran, Chirayath M.; Leon, Arthur; Rifkind, Basil M.; Tyroler, Herman A. Ten-year mortality from cardiovascular disease in relation to cholesterol level among men with and without preexisting cardiovascular disease. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 322, No. 24, Jun 14, 1990. 1,700-7 pp. Boston, Massachusetts. In Eng.
"To determine the associations of total, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol with mortality from coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease, we studied 2,541 white [North American] men who were 40 to 69 years old at base line and followed them for an average of 10.1 years. Seventeen percent had some manifestation of cardiovascular disease at base line, whereas the others did not. Among the men who had cardiovascular disease at base line, we found, after multivariate adjustment, that those with 'high' blood cholesterol levels (above 6.19 mmol per liter) had a risk of death from cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, that was 3.45 times higher...than that for men with 'desirable' blood cholesterol levels....Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels were also significant predictors of death from cardiovascular and coronary heart disease in men without preexisting cardiovascular disease, although at a lower level of absolute risk of death....Our findings suggest that total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol levels predict subsequent mortality in men 40 to 69 years of age, especially those with preexisting cardiovascular disease."
Correspondence: J. Pekkanen, University of North Carolina, School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30187 Polednak, Anthony P. Mortality from diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease among blacks in a higher income area. Public Health Reports, Vol. 105, No. 4, Jul-Aug 1990. 393-9 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
The author presents age- and sex-specific death rates for black and white residents of Suffolk County, New York, for all causes of death and for diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. He finds that black-white ratios of age-specific death rates for the period 1979-1983 are elevated for all causes for men and women. Consideration is given to the effects of educational status, poverty, medical care, and obesity.
Correspondence: A. P. Polednak, State University of New York, School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook, NY 11794. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30188 Sprafka, J. Michael; Burke, Gregory L.; Folsom, Aaron R.; Luepker, Russell V.; Blackburn, Henry. Continued decline in cardiovascular disease risk factors: results of the Minnesota Heart Survey, 1980-1982 and 1985-1987. American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 132, No. 3, Sep 1990. 489-500 pp. Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"Systematic, simultaneous surveillance of cardiovascular disease risk factors, morbidity, and mortality is ongoing in the Minnesota Heart Survey. Risk factors for cardiovascualr disease were measured in population-based surveys of Twin Cities metropolitan area residents aged 25-74 years in 1980-1982 and 1985-1987....This report describes the changes observed in coronary heart disease risk factors...and models the estimated effects on coronary heart disease mortality." The authors conclude that "despite difficulties in interpretation of ecologic studies, it appears likely that improvements in population risk factor levels played a role in the decline in disease rates and could influence future mortality trends in this population."
Correspondence: J. M. Sprafka, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).

56:30189 Valkovics, Emil. Possibilities for variance decomposition using mortality tables by causes of death. [A variancia tenyezokre bontasa halaloki halandosagi tablak alapjan.] Statisztikai Szemle, Vol. 68, No. 3 and 4-5, Mar and Apr-May 1990. 206-27; 350-66 pp. Budapest, Hungary. In Hun. with sum. in Eng; Rus.
This two-part article presents abridged mortality tables for causes of death by sex of the Hungarian population are presented for the years 1972-1973 and 1982. The author discusses mathematical and estimation techniques for computing risk factors for both specific causes of death and for all causes for populations or sub-groups of a population.
For a related article by the same author, published in 1988, see 54:20148.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30190 Williams, Allan N.; Johnson, Rebeca A.; Bender, Alan P. Use of coded mortality data to assess area cancer rates: impact of residence reporting and coding errors. American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 132, No. 1, Jul 1990. 178-82 pp. Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"In this investigation, the authors examined the extent to which community cancer mortality rates were affected by incorrect reporting or coding of residence on death certificates. Observed and expected cancer mortality for two adjacent communities in northern rural Minnesota for the periods 1970-1974 and 1980-1984 were obtained from computerized state mortality data....After review of data from the actual death certificates, city maps, and information from city officials, 44 of the 187 total cancer deaths (24%) were found to have had an incorrectly reported or coded residence status. After removal of these cases, the standardized mortality ratio for total cancers for males went from 138 to 107, and for females the standardized mortality ratio went from 148 to 111. No standardized mortality ratios remained statistically significant."
Correspondence: A. N. Williams, Minnesota Department of Health, Section of Chronic Disease and Environmental Epidemiology, 717 SE Delaware Street, P.O. Box 9441, Minneapolis, MN 55440. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

56:30191 Yinger, Nancy. Focus on maternal mortality. Population Today, Vol. 18, No. 5, May 1990. 6-7, 9 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
The author examines maternal mortality, with a focus on the lack of reliable information concerning levels and trends, the problem of inconsistent definitions, and biased or incomplete data, particularly in developing countries. According to data from the World Health Organization for 1985, "of the 500,000 maternal-mortality deaths each year, only about 1 percent (6,000) occur in the developed world....Many of the deaths result from unsafe and often illegal abortions or from complications which could be prevented by proper screening and access to health care and family planning." Major causes of maternal death are outlined.
Correspondence: N. Yinger, Population Reference Bureau, IMPACT Project, 777 14th Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20005. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).