Studies that treat quantitative mortality data analytically. Methodological studies primarily concerned with mortality are cited in this division and cross-referenced to N. Methods of Research and Analysis Including Models , if necessary. The main references to crude data are in the vital statistics items in S. Official Statistical Publications .
Studies of overall mortality and comparisons of several types of mortality. Studies dealing with two or more of the topics listed in this division are classified under the major section covered, or, if this is not self-evident, included here under General Mortality .
62:30081 Avdeev, Alexandre; Blum, Alain;
Zakharov, Serge. Did mortality in Russia really increase
dramatically between 1991 and 1995? [La mortalité en Russie
a-t-elle vraiment augmenté brutalement entre 1991 et 1995?] INED
Dossiers et Recherches, No. 51, Mar 1996. 79, iii pp. Institut National
d'Etudes Démographiques [INED]: Paris, France. In Fre. with sum.
in Eng; Rus.
This is an analysis of mortality trends in Russia
during the period 1991-1995. The focus is on the possible causes of the
decline in life expectancy recorded over this period. The authors
conclude that this sharp decline in life expectancy is not due to an
increase in individuals' risk of dying, but that it is an aftershock
from the declines in mortality that occurred in the mid-1980s. They
develop a model that incorporates this phenomenon of mortality catch-up
and takes into account the heterogeneity of the Russian population.
They conclude that the most important problem to resolve is not the
recent sharp increase in mortality, but the long-term increase in
mortality that has occurred over the past 30
years.
Correspondence: Institut National d'Etudes
Démographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex 14,
France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30082 Carnes, Bruce A.; Olshansky, S. Jay;
Grahn, Douglas. Continuing the search for a law of
mortality. Population and Development Review, Vol. 22, No. 2, Jun
1996. 231-64, 409, 411 pp. New York, New York. In Eng. with sum. in
Spa; Fre.
"Scientists have long attempted to explain why
closely similar age patterns of death are characteristic of highly
diverse human and non human populations....Early efforts [to develop a
general law of mortality] were conducted using mortality curves based
on all causes of death. The authors predict that if comparisons of
mortality are based instead on `intrinsic' causes of death (i.e.,
deaths that reflect the basic biology of the organism), then age
patterns of mortality consistent with the historical concept of a law
might be revealed. Using data on laboratory animals and humans, they
demonstrate that age patterns of intrinsic mortality overlap when
graphed on a biologically comparable time scale. These results are
consistent with the existence of a law of mortality following sexual
maturity, as originally asserted by Benjamin Gompertz and Raymond
Pearl. The societal, medical, and research implications of such a law
are discussed."
Correspondence: B. A. Carnes, Argonne
National Laboratory, Center for Mechanistic Biology and Biotechnology,
9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
62:30083 Carter, Lawrence R.
Forecasting U.S. mortality: a comparison of Box-Jenkins ARIMA and
structural time series models. Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 37,
No. 1, Winter 1996. 127-44 pp. Berkeley, California. In Eng.
"This article compares two methodologies for modeling and
forecasting statistical time series models of demographic processes:
Box-Jenkins ARIMA and structural time series analysis. The Lee-Carter
method is used to construct nonlinear demographic models of U.S.
mortality rates for the total population, gender, and race and gender
combined. Single time varying parameters of k, the index of mortality,
are derived from these [models] and fitted and forecasted using the two
methodologies. Forecasts of life expectancy at birth, [eo], are
generated from these indexes of k. Results show marginal differences in
fit and forecasts between the two statistical approaches with a slight
advantage to structural models. Stability across models for both
methodologies offers support for the robustness of this approach to
demographic forecasting."
Correspondence: L. R.
Carter, University of Oregon, Department of Sociology, Eugene, OR
97403-1291. Location: Princeton University Library (PR).
62:30084 Caselli, Graziella. The
key phases of the European health transition. Polish Population
Review, No. 7, 1995. 73-102 pp. Warsaw, Poland. In Eng.
"This
paper will attempt to analyse the health transition [in Europe] from
1910....The different steps in mortality trends, both in quantitative
terms and with regard to structural changes by age and cause, will also
be analysed and compared where possible to the far reaching changes
which marked the history of mortality in Europe. An attempt at
synthesis will be performed, using the data on life expectancy at birth
in 1910 onwards until recent times. Particular focus will be placed on
the more significant stages of the decline in mortality by age and the
cause of death...."
Correspondence: G. Caselli,
Università degli Studi di Roma la Sapienza, Dipartimento di
Scienze Demografiche, Via Nomentana 41, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30085 Coale, Ansley J. Age
patterns and time sequence of mortality in national populations with
the highest expectation of life at birth. Population and
Development Review, Vol. 22, No. 1, Mar 1996. 127-35, 202-3, 205 pp.
New York, New York. In Eng. with sum. in Fre; Spa.
"This note
characterizes the age estimators of mortality in life tables at very
low mortality by a combination of a time pattern of rising expectations
of life at birth and model life tables at very low mortality levels.
The fit to well-recorded low-mortality tables is very tight. If these
populations are approaching a lower limit of death rates, these rates
are likely to match the new model with expectation of life at birth of
about 85 years, rather than a rectangular survival
schedule."
Correspondence: A. J. Coale, Princeton
University, Office of Population Research, 21 Prospect Avenue,
Princeton, NJ 08544-2091. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30086 Gulliford, M. C.
Epidemiological transition in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
1953-1992. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 25, No. 2,
Apr 1996. 357-65 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"This study
aimed to describe trends in age-specific mortality from diabetes
mellitus, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease and ischaemic heart
disease in Trinidad and Tobago between 1953 and 1992 and to relate them
to earlier changes in infant mortality rates....Average annual
age-specific mortality rates per 100,000 were calculated for 5-year
time periods from 1953-1957 to 1988-1992 and plotted by mid-year birth
for cohorts born 1874-1882 to 1944-1952....Declining infant mortality
was subsequently associated with declining mortality from
cerebrovascular disease and hypertensive disease and increasing
mortality from diabetes mellitus but there was no association with
ischaemic heart disease mortality. These relationships were confounded
by secular changes associated with year of
death."
Correspondence: M. C. Gulliford, Guy's and St.
Thomas' Medical and Dental Schools, Department of Public Health
Medicine, London SE1 7EH, England. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
62:30087 Kaplan, George A.; Goldberg, Debbie
E.; Everson, Susan A.; Cohen, Richard D.; Salonen, Riitta; Tuomilehto,
Jaakko; Salonen, Jukka. Perceived health status and
morbidity and mortality: evidence from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart
Disease Risk Factor Study. International Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol. 25, No. 2, Apr 1996. 259-65 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The associations between perceived health status and
mortality from all causes and cardiovascular disease, incidence of
myocardial infarction, carotid atherosclerosis, forced expiratory
volume, and maximal exercise capacity were studied in the Kuopio
Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, a population-based study of
2,682 men, aged 42-60, in eastern Finland....There were strong,
statistically significant, age-adjusted associations between level of
perceived health and mortality from all causes..., cardiovascular
causes..., and incidence of myocardial infarction....Perceived health
levels were strongly associated with risk factors and disease
indicators. The associations with mortality and myocardial infarction
outcomes were considerably weakened with progressive adjustment for
eight risk factors and prevalent disease....Associations between level
of perceived health and these indicators were considerably stronger in
those with prevalent diseases than in those who were healthy....The
overall pattern of results suggests that perceived health levels mainly
reflect underlying disease burden."
Correspondence: G.
A. Kaplan, California Department of Health Services, Human Population
Laboratory, 2151 Berkeley Way, Annex 2, Suite 300, Berkeley, CA
94704-1011. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30088 Kunitz, Stephen J.
Disease and social diversity: the European impact on the health of
non-Europeans. ISBN 0-19-508530-2. LC 93-35498. 1994. viii, 209
pp. Oxford University Press: New York, New York/Oxford, England. In
Eng.
This study explores how diverse social institutions and
cultures shape patterns of disease and death in populations. It
examines the many ways in which different causes of morbidity and
mortality in populations are affected by social processes. The
discussion is limited in several ways. "First, I shall consider
only the indigenous peoples of the United States, Canada, some large
Polynesian islands, and Australia. Second, I shall consider the impact
of European contact and social change on the mortality and morbidity of
these populations. Third, I shall be selective in the topics I cover
and the examples I choose. Fourth, in most chapters I shall use the
comparative method to isolate important explanatory
variables."
Correspondence: Oxford University Press,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Location: Princeton
University Library (FST).
62:30089 Langhamrová, Jitka; Fiala,
Tomás. 1950-1992 mortality rate in the Czech
Republic and selected European countries. [Prehled
úmrtnosti v CR a ve vybraných evropských
zemích v letech 1950-1992.] Statistika, No. 5, 1996. 200-9 pp.
Prague, Czech Republic. In Cze. with sum. in Eng.
Mortality data
for the Czech Republic are presented for the period 1950-1992, together
with comparative data for other European countries. The authors note
the growing differences in mortality between the former communist
countries and the rest of Europe.
Correspondence: J.
Langhamrová, Vysoká Skola Ekonomická, Nám.
W. Churchilla 4, 130 67 Prague 3, Czech Republic. Location:
Princeton University Library (PR).
62:30090 Lee, W.-C.; Hsieh, R.-L.
Estimating life expectancy using an age-cohort model in
Taiwan. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 50, No.
2, Apr 1996. 214-7 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"We present a
new method of estimating the cohort life expectancy. The estimation
(projection) is based on an age-cohort model. Because the data required
for the model are the usual age and period cross classified mortality
data in the format of vital statistics, follow up of a group of
subjects for a long time is unnecessary. The mortality data for the
male population in Taiwan from 1951-90 are used to illustrate the
methodology." Results indicate that "the increment of life
expectancy over time in Taiwan is actually steeper than was previously
thought using the current life table technique....The method is easy to
implement and the data required are the usual age and period cross
classified mortality data. It warrants further
investigation."
Correspondence: W.-C. Lee, National
Taiwan University, College of Public Health, Graduate Institute of
Epidemiology, 1 Jen-Ai Road, 1st Sec, Taipei, Taiwan. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30091 Lu, Wang-Shu; Tsutakawa, Robert
K. Analysis of mortality rates via marginal extended
quasi-likelihood. Statistics in Medicine, Vol. 15, No. 13, Jul 15,
1996. 1,397-407 pp. Chichester, England. In Eng.
"We use a
mixed Poisson regression model with extra variation to analyse
mortality data cross-classified by age and geographic region. We use
estimates of dispersion parameter and fixed effects parameters,
obtained by maximizing a marginal quasi-likelihood function, to
estimate mortality rates in an empirical Bayes manner. This is a
modification of an earlier method by Tsutakawa that used the likelihood
function and is computationally impractical for routine use. In order
to apply the extended quasi-likelihood function, a linear variance
function (of the mean) is used in place of a quadratic one used
previously. We illustrate the method with male lung cancer death in the
state of Missouri."
Correspondence: W.-S. Lu, National
University of Singapore, Department of Economics and Statistics, 10
Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 0511. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
62:30092 Martikainen, Pekka; Valkonen,
Tapani. Economic depression and premature mortality.
[Lama ja ennen aikainen kuolleisuus.]
Väestö/Befolkning/Population, No. 1995:11, ISBN
951-727-089-5. 1995. 92 pp. Tilastokeskus: Helsinki, Finland. In Fin.
An analysis of mortality in Finland by age, sex, social group,
educational level, and cause of death shows that the decline of
mortality has been somewhat faster during the present economic downturn
than before it. At the same time, mortality differentials among social
groups have continued to widen. Individual follow-up studies of the
unemployed according to occupation and area of residence show no effect
of unemployment on mortality in the short run.
Correspondence:
Tilastokeskus, P.O. Box 3B, 00022 Helsinki, Finland. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30093 Martikainen, Pekka; Valkonen,
Tapani. Mortality after the death of a spouse: rates and
causes of death in a large Finnish cohort. American Journal of
Public Health, Vol. 86, No. 8, Pt. 1, Aug 1996. 1,087-93 pp.
Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This study examines excess mortality
among Finnish persons after the death of a spouse, by sex, the
subject's cause of death, duration of bereavement, and age....The
subjects were 1,580,000 married Finnish persons aged 35 through 84
years who were followed up from 1986 through 1991....The results are
consistent with the hypothesis that excess mortality after the death of
a spouse is partly caused by stress. The loss of social support or the
inability to cope with stress may explain why men suffer from
bereavement more than do women."
Correspondence: P.
Martikainen, University of Helsinki, Department of Sociology,
Population Research Unit, P.O. Box 33, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
62:30094 Meslé, France; Vallin,
Jacques. Mortality in the world: trends and
prospects. CEPED Series, No. 1, ISBN 2-87762-087-5. May 1996. 24
pp. Centre Français sur la Population et le Développement
[CEPED]: Paris, France. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
The authors
review world trends in mortality and health status. "Largely as a
result of the general economic development process induced by the
Industrial Revolution, health improvements spread...throughout the
world, in spite of large time lags and different speeds among
countries....If the trend [in life expectancy] forecasted by the United
Nations as due to take place between 1990-1995 and 2020-2025 is plotted
in the same way as for the preceding period...it seems more than likely
that it will not be achieved by all countries."
Translated from
the French by Isabelle Wallerstein.
Correspondence: Centre
Français sur la Population et le Développement, 15 rue de
l'Ecole de Médecine, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30095 Muñoz Pradas, Francisco; Nos,
Roser N. Transitions in mortality and health: theory,
comparison and historical evidence. Polish Population Review, No.
7, 1995. 53-71 pp. Warsaw, Poland. In Eng.
"The central aim of
the present article is to review the theoretical and historical bases
of the comparative perspective, in which the theory of epidemiological
transition is normally used in order to improve our understanding of
peripheral transitions in the evolution of the European mortality rate
between 1860 and 1960....We propose not so much a new theory
speculating on the causes of the advances, which are irreversible after
a certain point in the survival of western populations during the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as a new way of looking at existing
interpretations. Specifically, we have attempted to justify the need
for a perspective which gets away from the usual approach, based on a
sequential arrangement of the stages within a scale of evolution, and
on a causal impulse behind those stages, deriving from a global
socio-economic process."
Correspondence: F.
Muñoz Pradas, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193
Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
Studies dealing primarily with fetal and neonatal mortality, except those dealing with spontaneous abortions, which are classified under F.3. Sterility and Other Pathology , and those studies dealing with induced abortions, which are classified under F.4.5. Induced Abortion . Perinatal mortality is defined as mortality occurring between the twenty-eighth week of gestation and the seventh day of life.
62:30096 Curtis, Siân L.; Steele,
Fiona. Variations in familial neonatal mortality risks in
four countries. Journal of Biosocial Science, Vol. 28, No. 2, Apr
1996. 141-59 pp. Cambridge, England. In Eng.
"This paper
investigates variations in the strength and structure of familial
association in neonatal mortality risks in four populations: Bolivia,
Kenya, Peru, and Tanzania. Exploratory analyses of the structure of the
familial association are presented for each population. Random effects
logistic models are then used to estimate the strength of familial
association in neonatal mortality risks using a standard set of control
variables. The results suggest that the strength of familial
association in neonatal mortality risk is quite similar in these four
populations which would be consistent with a biological explanation for
the association. However, some differences were found, particularly in
the form of the association in Peru, which may suggest at least a small
role of other factors."
Correspondence: S. L. Curtis,
Macro International, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Calverton, MD 20705-3119.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
Studies of infant mortality under one year of age, including neonatal mortality occurring after the seventh day of life, and childhood mortality after one year of age. The subject of infanticide, deliberate or implied, is also classified under this heading.
62:30097 Aaby, Peter; Samb, Badara; Andersen,
Marc; Simondon, Francois. No long-term excess mortality
after measles infection: a community study from Senegal. American
Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 143, No. 10, May 15, 1996. 1,035-41 pp.
Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"The present study examines
long-term survival after measles infection in a rural area of Senegal,
Niakhar, where measles transmission and acute mortality was studied
between 1983 and 1986...." In particular, the authors compare the
post-measles mortality of unimmunized children with the mortality of
unimmunized children who had not had measles. "The authors
conclude that measles infection was not associated with increased
mortality after the acute phase of infection and that index cases had
lower mortality than uninfected, unvaccinated children. The reduction
in mortality after measles immunization can therefore not be explained
by the prevention of post-measles
mortality."
Correspondence: P. Aaby, Statens
Seruminstitut, Epidemiology Research Unit, Artillerivej 5, 2300
Copenhagen S, Denmark. Location: Princeton University Library
(SZ).
62:30098 Amin, Ruhul.
Immunization coverage and child mortality in two rural districts of
Sierra Leone. Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 42, No. 11, Jun
1996. 1,599-604 pp. Tarrytown, New York/Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The study, which is based on data from a household level
health survey conducted in early 1993 in the rural areas of the
districts of Western Area and Port Loko of Sierra Leone, examines the
coverage of an Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), infant and child
mortality, and disease symptoms among children [who] died under age
five in the study area. The results of the study indicated that the
infant and child mortality rate per thousand live births declined from
about 162 in the mid 1980s to about 77 in 1993. This decline was
associated with immunization coverage which considerably increased by
1993, reaching as high as above 60% of the eligible children." The
results also indicate that a significant percentage of the child
mortality that did occur may be associated with failure to take the
full doses of immunization or incorrect use of domiciliary oral
rehydration therapy.
Correspondence: R. Amin, Morgan State
University, Institute for Urban Research, Hillen Road and Coldspring
Lane, Baltimore, MD 21239-9972. Location: Princeton University
Library (PR).
62:30099 Becker, Stan; Black, Robert
E. A model of child morbidity, mortality and health
interventions. Johns Hopkins Population Center Papers on
Population, No. 96-06, [1996]. 29, [25] pp. Johns Hopkins University,
School of Hygiene and Public Health, Department of Population Dynamics:
Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"A macro model of morbidity and
mortality in children under five years of age is presented. Monthly
disease-specific incidence and case fatality rates form the basis of
the model and the efficacy and coverage of disease-specific
interventions alter these values. In addition, frailty is modeled via
relative risks of mortality based on five groups....A validation of the
model was carried out using data from the comparison and treatment
areas of the Demographic Surveillance System in Matlab,
Bangladesh."
This paper was presented at the 1996 Annual
Meeting of the Population Association of America.
Correspondence: Johns Hopkins University, School of
Hygiene and Public Health, Departments of Population Dynamics and
International Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205-2179.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30100 Bernhardt, Eva M.
Crowding and survival in Stockholm 1895-1920. In: Demography,
economy and welfare, edited by Christer Lundh. 1995. 279-91 pp. Lund
University Press: Lund, Sweden; Chartwell-Bratt: Bromley, England. In
Eng.
"This paper presents some tentative results from an
ongoing research project about child survival in Stockholm [Sweden]
1878-1926, based on micro-level data, namely the longitudinal
information about individual children and their families contained in
the Stockholm Historical Data Base. Individual life histories (or
segments of such histories) are analyzed by means of intensity
regression, where the relative importance of different background
factors (such as the degree of overcrowding) for the risk of dying at a
specific age is established. Since information about the number of
rooms that each household had at its disposal is available only from
the housing censuses in 1895 and onwards, the analysis in this paper is
limited to the period 1895-1920. In this first stage of the analysis,
only overall mortality will be studied, that is regardless of cause of
death."
Correspondence: E. M. Bernhardt, Stockholm
University, Demography Division, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30101 Cutts, F. T.; dos Santos, C.; Novoa,
A.; David, P.; Macassa, G.; Soares, A. C. Child and
maternal mortality during a period of conflict in Beira City,
Mozambique. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 25, No. 2,
Apr 1996. 349-56 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"We studied
child and maternal mortality and risk factors for child mortality in
Beira city in July 1993, after a decade of conflict in Mozambique....A
community-based cluster sample survey of 4,609 women of childbearing
age was conducted....Indirect estimates of the probability of dying
from birth to age 5...decreased from 246 in 1977/8 to 212 in
1988/9....Lack of beds in the household..., absence of the father...,
low paternal educational level..., young maternal age..., self-reported
maternal illness..., and home delivery of the child...were associated
with increased mortality, but the sensitivity of risk factors was
low....Child mortality decreased slowly over the 1980s in Beira despite
poor living conditions caused by the indirect effects of the war.
Coverage of health services increased over this period. The
appropriateness of a risk approach to maternal-child-health care needs
further evaluation."
Correspondence: F. T. Cutts,
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Communicable Disease
Epidemiology Unit, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, England.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30102 Dreze, Jean; Guio, Anne-Catherine;
Murthi, Mamta. Demographic outcomes, economic development
and women's agency. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No.
27, Jul 6, 1996. 1,739-42 pp. Mumbai, India. In Eng.
"This
paper examines the determinants of fertility, child mortality and
gender bias in child mortality in India using district-level data from
the 1981 Census. The findings highlight the powerful effects of
variables relating to women's agency (e.g., female literacy and female
labour force participation) on mortality and fertility. Further, higher
levels of female literacy and female labour force participation are
associated with significantly lower levels of female disadvantage in
child survival. In contrast, variables relating to the general level of
development and modernisation have relatively weak effects on
demographic outcomes."
Location: Princeton University
Library (PF).
62:30103 Frisbie, W. Parker; Forbes, Douglas;
Pullum, Starling. Compromised birth outcomes and infant
mortality among racial and ethnic groups. Texas Population
Research Center Paper, No. 95-96-05, 1995-1996. 20, [4] pp. University
of Texas, Texas Population Research Center: Austin, Texas. In Eng.
"Employing the fetal growth ratio in a large [U.S.] sample [of
Mexican Americans, anglos, and blacks], we have demonstrated, for the
first time, the absolute and relative effects on the distribution of
birth outcomes occasioned by application of the FGR and that
race/ethnic differentials of considerable consequence exist both in the
distributions of compromised birth outcomes and in the infant mortality
risks associated with those outcomes."
Correspondence:
University of Texas, Population Research Center, Main 1800,
Austin, TX 78712-1088. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
62:30104 Garrett, Eilidh; Reid,
Alice. Thinking of England and taking care: family
building strategies and infant mortality in England and Wales,
1891-1911. International Journal of Population Geography, Vol. 1,
No. 1, Sep 1995. 69-102 pp. Chichester, England. In Eng.
"Debates concerning the origins and development of the late
nineteenth- to early twentieth-century declines in marital fertility
and infant mortality in England and Wales have been centred largely on
the material provided by answers to the `special' questions in the 1911
census. In their published form these figures have restricted
researchers to an examination of large scale geographic and social
class differences in the levels and rates of decline of the two
phenomena. This paper outlines research conducted on a sample of
individual census returns from the 1911 census. From this data it
becomes clear that for Victorian and Edwardian England `where one
lived' was rather more important than `who one was' in determining both
family building strategies and the survival of those children
born."
Correspondence: E. Garrett, ESRC Cambridge
Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, 27
Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA, England. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30105 Gleason, Suzanne. The
determinants of male/female survival in India: theory and
evidence. Department of Economics Working Paper Series, No. 95-15,
Dec 1995. 46 pp. University of Maryland, Department of Economics:
College Park, Maryland. In Eng.
"This paper examines policy
options to address the excess mortality of females in India. The
determinants of gender-specific child survival in India are
investigated through the traditional household production model, which
is extended to include public goods as fixed inputs in production
decisions....Results indicate that increases in female literacy, female
labor force participation and the supply of medical personnel increase
female child survival in rural India. Furthermore, higher ratios of
female to male medical technicians are associated with higher female
child survival relative to males."
Correspondence:
University of Maryland, Department of Economics, College Park, MD
20742. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30106 Lalou, Richard; LeGrand, Thomas
K. Child mortality in towns and villages in the
Sahel. [La mortalité des enfants du Sahel en ville et au
village.] Population, Vol. 51, No. 2, Mar-Apr 1996. 329-51 pp. Paris,
France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng; Spa.
"In this paper, [the
authors] begin by defining a conceptual framework to study the health
of children by place of residence. [They] then use data from Child
Mortality Surveys in the Sahel (EMIS), conducted in the towns of Bamako
[in Mali] and Bobo-Dioulasso [in Burkina Faso] and in a rural area in
Senegal, to ascertain whether cities remain advantaged in terms of
health. Mortality is found to be higher among young rural children,
especially during the second year of life, even when compared to that
in underprivileged urban neighborhoods. However, on the whole, the
estimated effects of individual and household characteristics on
children's survival are very similar in cities and in rural
areas."
Correspondence: R. Lalou, Institut
Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement
en Coopération, B.P. 1386, Dakar, Senegal. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30107 Lovell, Peggy A.
Frontier settlement and child survival in the Brazilian
Amazon. Population and Environment, Vol. 17, No. 5, May 1996.
409-26 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"This study uses sample
data from the 1960, 1970 and 1980 demographic censuses to estimate
child survival rates among children born to native and migrant women in
the Brazilian Amazon. Estimates show that by 1980 the probability of
death among children was quite similar when comparing native and
migrant populations in the aggregate. However, after controlling for
household economic activity and income, death rates were higher among
migrant children. The findings suggest that nonmigrants are better able
than recent colonists to mobilize physical and social environments to
safeguard the health of their children."
Correspondence:
P. A. Lovell, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Sociology,
2G03 Forbes Quadrangle, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30108 Maharatna, Arup. Infant
and child mortality during famines in late 19th and early 20th century
India. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 27, Jul 6,
1996. 1,774-83 pp. Mumbai, India. In Eng.
"This paper attempts
to infer regional variations of the extent of relative social
protection and familial treatment to infants and children during
subsistence crises that accompanied several famines in the late 19th
and early 20th century in India."
Location: Princeton
University Library (PF).
62:30109 Mina Valdés,
Alejandro. Infant and child mortality in Mexico, estimated
using the 1980 and 1990 censuses and projections to 2000. [La
mortalidad infantil y en los primeros años de vida en
México, estimada en los censos de 1980 y 1990 y su
proyección al 2000.] Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos,
Vol. 9, No. 3, Sep-Dec 1994. 765-82 pp. Mexico City, Mexico. In Spa.
Using indirect methods based on information about live births and
surviving children, the author reviews estimates of infant and child
mortality in Mexico. Data are from the 1980 and 1990
censuses.
Correspondence: A. Mina Valdés, El Colegio
de México, Centro de Estudios Demográficos y de
Desarrollo Urbano, Camino al Ajusco 20, 10740 Mexico City, DF, Mexico.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30110 Nelson, Marie C.; Rogers,
John. Stockholm and Gothenburg and the urban mortality
puzzle. In: Demography, economy and welfare, edited by Christer
Lundh. 1995. 292-309 pp. Lund University Press: Lund, Sweden;
Chartwell-Bratt: Bromley, England. In Eng.
"The goal of
establishing the relationship between the effects of public health
measures and the decline in mortality which took place during the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries is an elusive one....The purpose of
this paper is not to establish a direct cause and effect relationship
between demographic change and other factors, but rather to examine the
validity of oft-presented relationships of mortality, and in particular
urban infant mortality, with other elements, such as weather
conditions. Stockholm and Gothenburg, the two largest Swedish cities,
have been studied at the aggregate level with concentration on the
period after the adoption of public health legislation in 1874. Only
indirect comparisons can be made as the source material used
varied."
Correspondence: M. C. Nelson, Mid Sweden
University, Department of Humanities, Härnösand, Sweden.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30111 Poston, Dudley L.
Patterns of infant mortality. In: China: the many facets of
demographic change, edited by Alice Goldstein and Wang Feng. 1996.
47-65 pp. Westview Press: Boulder, Colorado/Oxford, England. In Eng.
"We endeavor in this chapter to describe the variation in
infant mortality among China's cities and counties...and then to
examine the relations between infant mortality and its related
socioeconomic and health-related determinants. An important part of the
chapter is to attempt to develop and evaluate three different sets of
infant mortality data, in addition to the `official' set....We
[suggest] that the officially reported infant mortality data for many
counties from the 1982 Census of China do not appear to be of high
enough quality to permit an accurate assessment of the phenomenon's
levels and variation throughout the counties and urban districts of
China [and believe]...that these data reflect in quite a few instances
the tendency in many places to underenumerate infant
deaths."
Correspondence: D. L. Poston, Texas A and M
University, Department of Sociology, College Station, TX 77843.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30112 Rahman, M. M.; Kabir, M.; Amin,
R. Relationship between survival status of first child and
subsequent child death. Journal of Biosocial Science, Vol. 28, No.
2, Apr 1996. 185-91 pp. Cambridge, England. In Eng.
"This
paper examines the association between infant mortality of the first
born and subsequent children using data from rural Bangladesh collected
during the period 1971-82. It shows that birth spacing and age of
mother at the time of the second birth are important predictors of the
survival status of the first child. The findings are discussed in terms
of policy implications."
Correspondence: M. Kabir,
Jahangirnagar University, Department of Statistics, Savar, Dhaka,
Bangladesh. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30113 Sastry, Narayan.
Community characteristics, individual and household attributes, and
child survival in Brazil. Demography, Vol. 33, No. 2, May 1996.
211-29 pp. Silver Spring, Maryland. In Eng.
"This paper
presents an analysis of the relationship between community
characteristics, household attributes, and child survival in Brazil.
The principal objectives are to investigate how the social and
environmental context in which a child is raised affects his or her
survival chances, and to analyze how household variables modify the
effects of community characteristics. The interaction effects we
examine help to explain the effects of community characteristics on
child survival chances by illuminating the most likely pathways through
which these covariates operate. This information is also useful for
predicting who is most likely to benefit from public policies to
improve community infrastructure, education, and health
care."
Correspondence: N. Sastry, RAND, 1700 Main
Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30114 Singh, Gopal K.; Yu, Stella
M. U.S. childhood mortality, 1950 through 1993: trends and
socioeconomic differentials. American Journal of Public Health,
Vol. 86, No. 4, Apr 1996. 505-12 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This study examined trends and differentials in U.S.
childhood mortality from 1950 through 1993 according to sex,
race/ethnicity, education, family income, and cause of
death....Log-linear, multiple regression, and Cox proportional hazards
regression models were applied to the data from the National Vital
Statistics System, the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, and the
Area Resource File....Substantial declines in U.S. childhood mortality
have occurred in the past 4 decades, primarily due to decreases in
mortality from unintentional injuries, cancer, pneumonia and influenza,
and congenital anomalies. The overall declining trend, however, has
been dampened by a twofold to threefold increase in the suicide and
homicide rates among children since 1968. Male, Black, American Indian,
Hawaiian, and Puerto Rican children and those in the lower
socioeconomic strata were at increased risk of
death."
Correspondence: G. K. Singh, National Center
for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics, Room 840, 6525
Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Location: Princeton
University Library (SZ).
62:30115 Sundin, Jan. Culture,
class, and infant mortality during the Swedish mortality transition,
1750-1850. Social Science History, Vol. 19, No. 1, Spring 1995.
117-45 pp. Durham, North Carolina. In Eng.
"The subject
examined here is previous and current research on Swedish infant
mortality before and during the first phase of its decline with special
reference to social and cultural influences. No claim is made for the
quantitative weight of any explanation. Rather, it is argued that there
is strong `circumstantial' evidence that cultural factors played an
important, though not solitary, role in determining the transition
during the nineteenth century. This paper attempts to bring the Swedish
empirical observations together and seeks the most feasible
hypothesis."
Location: Princeton University Library
(PR).
62:30116 Turmel, André; Hamelin,
Louise. The leading killer of children: infant mortality
since the turn of the century. [La grande faucheuse d'enfants: la
mortalité infantile depuis le tournant du siècle.]
Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology/Revue Canadienne de
Sociologie et d'Anthropologie, Vol. 32, No. 4, Nov 1995. 439-63 pp.
Montreal, Canada. In Fre. with sum. in Eng.
"This article aims
to distinguish periods and stages in the fight against infant mortality
(i.m.) [in Canada]. How and when have adults' social practices toward
the death of children changed? The authors investigate how the social
regulation of these practices was implemented, singling out two periods
in the study of this phenomenon. The first is characterized by the
fight against exogenous causes of i.m. while the second is
distinguished by the struggle against indigenous causes. How does this
transition operate from a sociological standpoint? Within these two
periods, two stages in the decline of i.m. are distinguished. The first
concerns the improvement of populations' sanitary conditions; the
second relates to the regulation of social practices by public
awareness campaigns."
Correspondence: A. Turmel,
Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec G1K 7P4, Canada.
Location: Princeton University Library (PR).
62:30117 Yimamu, Enemanachew; Chaudhury,
Rafiqul H. Socio-demographic correlates of infant
mortality in rural Ethiopia. Population and Development Bulletin,
Vol. 2, No. 1, Mar 1994. 1-10 pp. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In Eng.
"The purpose of this paper is to examine sociodemographic
factors affecting infant deaths in rural Ethiopia....We specifically
examine the nature of the relation between maternal age, education,
religion and ethnicity on the one hand and infant mortality on the
other, and the implications these relations may have for future infant
mortality reduction in a developing country like
Ethiopia."
Correspondence: R. H. Chaudhury, Central
Statistical Authority, Population Analysis and Studies, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30118 Yoon, Paula W.; Black, Robert E.;
Moulton, Lawrence H.; Becker, Stan. Effect of not
breastfeeding on the risk of diarrheal and respiratory mortality in
children under 2 years of age in Metro Cebu, The Philippines.
American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 143, No. 11, Jun 1, 1996.
1,142-8 pp. Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"The effects of not
breastfeeding on mortality due to diarrhea and acute lower respiratory
infection (ALRI) in children under 2 years of age were examined using
data from a 1988-1991 longitudinal study of 9,942 children in Metro
Cebu, The Philippines....Not breastfeeding had a greater effect on
diarrheal mortality than on ALRI mortality. In the first 6 months of
life, failing to initiate breastfeeding or ceasing to breastfeed
resulted in an 8- to 10-fold increase in the rate of diarrheal
mortality. The rate of mortality associated with both ALRI and diarrhea
was increased nearly six times by not breastfeeding, but the rate of
ALRI mortality alone was not increased. The data also suggested that
the risk of mortality associated with not breastfeeding was greater for
low birth weight infants and infants whose mothers had little formal
education. After age 6 months, the protective effects of breastfeeding
dropped dramatically."
Correspondence: R. E. Black,
Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health,
Department of International Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore,
MD 21205. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
62:30119 Zaba, Basia; David, Patricia
H. Fertility and the distribution of child mortality risk
among women: an illustrative analysis. Population Studies, Vol.
50, No. 2, Jul 1996. 263-78 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"A
new method that does not rely on standard social class categorizations
is proposed for measuring and comparing the concentration of [child]
mortality risk among families in different populations. The new
measures can be obtained directly from aggregated data. These measures
are used to explore the extent of death-clustering in families, and to
show that inter-woman variability in risk is more important than
inter-birth variability. Parity is a potential confounder of measures
of death-clustering, since it contributes to an observable increase in
risk; classification by parity provides a convenient way of measuring
the over-dispersion of the distribution of deaths between women."
The geographical focus is on Kenya.
This is a revised version of a
paper originally presented at the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Population
Association of America.
Correspondence: B. Zaba, London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Population Studies,
London WC1N 7HT, England. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
Studies of age-specific mortality and of mortality in special groups defined by age.
62:30120 Bhat, P. N. Mari. Age
misreporting and its impact on adult mortality estimates in South
Asia. Demography India, Vol. 24, No. 1, Jan-Jun 1995. 59-80 pp.
Delhi, India. In Eng.
"In this paper we will focus on patterns
of age misstatements in South Asia, where age errors are particularly
pronounced, and their effect on estimates of adult mortality derived
from intercensal analyses. In contrast to earlier studies on this
issue, which relied upon model life tables or on assumed age-patterns
of mortality, we attempt to use demographic identities to infer
patterns of age misreporting and demonstrate through simulation typical
biases in mortality estimates these may give rise to.
Discussion...makes extensive use of Indian data, but conclusions of the
study could easily be generalized to [the] whole of South
Asia."
Correspondence: P. N. M. Bhat, JSS Institute of
Economic Research, Population Research Centre, Vidyagiri, Dharwad 580
004, India. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30121 Chackiel, Juan; Plaut,
Renate. Demographic trends with emphasis on
mortality. In: Adult mortality in Latin America, edited by Ian M.
Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 14-41 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The purpose of this chapter is to outline the demographic
context in which adult mortality is developing in Latin America. The
objective is to understand better the factors that influence health and
disease and the implementation of preventive policies. In Section 2,
general demographic trends and the most important changes that have
occurred in the last few decades are described....An analysis of the
current age distribution of the population in Latin America and future
prospects is carried out in Section 3. Section 4 is dedicated to
analysing the strong tendency towards urbanization that has occurred in
the region....Social inequalities are expressed in demographic trends
that differ between population sectors, as discussed in Section
5....Excess mortality at different levels of life expectancy at birth
in the countries of the region [is analyzed], according to a model
composed of the lowest observed mortality
rates."
Correspondence: J. Chackiel, UN Centro
Latinoamericano de Demografía, Edificio Naciones Unidas, Avenida
Dag Hammarskjold, Casilla 91, Santiago, Chile. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30122 Faijer, Dirk J.; Orellana,
Hernán. Evaluation of vital statistics for the
study of causes of death. In: Adult mortality in Latin America,
edited by Ian M. Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996.
45-68 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter takes a deeper look at the problems presented by
the data on adult mortality (defining the adult population as those
aged 15 years or more) and causes of death among adults in Latin
America. First, vital statistics coverage by age and sex is reviewed
for those Latin American countries for which the necessary information
is available. Then, the problem of ill-defined causes of death is
addressed and an estimate of total unavailable information on causes of
death, compared with total estimated deaths, is
presented."
Correspondence: D. J. Faijer, UN Centro
Latinoamericano de Demografía, Edificio Naciones Unidas, Avenida
Dag Hammarskjold, Casilla 91, Santiago, Chile. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30123 Lopez, Alan D.; Caselli, Graziella;
Valkonen, Tapani. Adult mortality in developed countries:
from description to explanation. International Studies in
Demography, ISBN 0-19-823329-9. LC 94-40464. 1995. xvi, 361 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
This book contains a selection of 14 papers by various authors on
aspects of adult mortality in developed countries. The papers are
divided into sections on analytical approaches and frameworks, patterns
of mortality change, differential mortality, and policy and program
implications.
Selected items will be cited in this or subsequent
issues of Population Index.
Correspondence: Oxford
University Press, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, England. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30124 Oyejide, C. O.; Shalabi, A. G.;
Benjawi, M.; Al-Hosani, H. Causes of adult female
mortality in Al Ain district, United Arab Emirates. Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 50, No. 2, Apr 1996. 224 pp.
London, England. In Eng.
This one-page article aims at
"documenting trends in the levels and causes of adult female
mortality in Al Ain district of the United Arab Emirates over a 10 year
period 1984-93....Information from the vital registration system was
used....Non-communicable diseases have emerged as the most common
causes of adult female mortality in Al Ain; diseases of the circulatory
system are the most common. There is a low level of pregnancy related
mortality. Breast cancer was the most common malignancy causing
mortality."
Correspondence: C. O. Oyejide, United Arab
Emirates University, Department of Community Medicine, P.O. Box 17666,
Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30125 Preston, Samuel H.; Elo, Irma T.;
Rosenwaike, Ira; Hill, Mark. African-American mortality at
older ages: results of a matching study. Demography, Vol. 33, No.
2, May 1996. 193-209 pp. Silver Spring, Maryland. In Eng.
"In
this paper we investigate the quality of age reporting on death
certificates of elderly African-Americans. We link a sample of death
certificates of persons age 65+ in 1985 to records for the same
individuals in U.S. censuses of 1900, 1910, and 1920 and to records of
the Social Security Administration. The ages at death reported on death
certificates are too young on average. Errors are greater for women
than for men. Despite systematic underreporting of age at death, too
many deaths are registered at ages 95+. This excess reflects an age
distribution of deaths that declines steeply with age, so that the base
for upward transfers into an age category is much larger than the base
for transfers downward and out. When corrected ages at death are used
to estimate age-specific death rates, African American mortality rates
increase substantially above age 85 and the racial `crossover' in
mortality disappears. Uncertainty about white rates at ages 95+,
however, prevents a decisive racial comparison at the very oldest
ages."
Correspondence: S. H. Preston, University of
Pennsylvania, Population Studies Center, 3718 Locust Walk,
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6298. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30126 Rosero-Bixby, Luis.
Adult mortality decline in Costa Rica. In: Adult mortality in
Latin America, edited by Ian M. Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado
Ruzicka. 1996. 166-95 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England;
International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]:
Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter...[aims] to describe the
mortality transition at adult ages [in Costa Rica], to identify its key
components, and to make inferences about its likely determinants. The
chapter has five sections: socio-economic and public-health background
of Costa Rica; the data and methods used; decline in risks of dying in
two age intervals (20-49 and 50-79); analysis of risks of dying by
cause of death; and areal analysis of adult mortality and its correlate
across 100 small geographical units."
Correspondence:
L. Rosero-Bixby, Princeton University, Office of Population
Research, 21 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08544-2091. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30127 Sells, C. Wayne; Blum, Robert
W. Morbidity and mortality among U.S. adolescents: an
overview of data and trends. American Journal of Public Health,
Vol. 86, No. 4, Apr 1996. 513-9 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This article reviews the health status of adolescents in the
United States 1979 through 1994....An extensive array of data from
federal agencies, private organizations, and published literature was
reviewed, analyzed, and cross-validated....Significant shifts in
mortality and morbidity among America's youth have occurred over the
past decade. Adolescents have recorded significant reductions in motor
vehicle deaths; alcohol, cigarette, and illicit substance use; and
gonorrhea and syphilis. Overall, mortality in the second decade of life
has declined by 13%. However, reductions in unintentional injuries have
been largely offset by increases in teenage homicide, while worsening
poverty as well as risk-taking behaviors continue to influence the
morbidities of teenagers adversely. Violence, suicide, and teenage
pregnancy continue to be overwhelming problems for young
people."
Correspondence: R. W. Blum, University of
Minnesota Hospital and Clinic, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN
55455. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
62:30128 Singh, Gopal K.; Yu, Stella
M. Trends and differentials in adolescent and young adult
mortality in the United States, 1950 through 1993. American
Journal of Public Health, Vol. 86, No. 4, Apr 1996. 560-72 pp.
Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"Using data from the National Vital
Statistics System and the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, this
study examined mortality trends and differentials from 1950 through
1993 among U.S. adolescents and young adults according to sex,
race/ethnicity, education, family income, marital status, and cause of
death. No appreciable reduction in youth mortality has occurred,
especially among men. Declines in youth mortality from accidents have
been nearly offset by increases in death rates from homicide, suicide,
and firearm injuries. American Indians, Blacks, males, and those with
least education and income were at increased risk of both overall and
injury-specific youth mortality."
Correspondence: G.
K. Singh, National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital
Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 840, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
62:30129 Timæus, Ian M.; Chackiel, Juan;
Ruzicka, Lado. Adult mortality in Latin America.
International Studies in Demography, ISBN 0-19-828994-4. LC 95-48977.
1996. viii, 367 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International
Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium.
In Eng.
"The structure of this book reflects the major issues
of concern for an interdisciplinary analysis of adult mortality in a
group of developing countries at different stages of mortality
transition. The first section of the book provides an overview of
demographic trends and differentials in the Latin American region from
a public health perspective; that sets the stage for the subsequent
detailed analyses. The second section of the book is concerned with
data collection and methods....The third section of the book comprises
studies of mortality transition and the accompanying epidemiologic
transition....[The fourth section] is concerned with disease-specific
and injury-specific analyses."
Selected items will be cited in
this or subsequent issues of Population Index.
Correspondence:
Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, England.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30130 Timæus, Ian M. New
estimates of the decline in adult mortality since 1950. In: Adult
mortality in Latin America, edited by Ian M. Timæus, Juan
Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 87-107 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford,
England; International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
[IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter focuses on a
second technique for obtaining more up-to-date mortality estimates than
those yielded by the basic orphanhood method. The approach also avoids
some of the biases that can affect the basic method. It is based on a
supplementary question about whether orphanhood occurred before or
after marriage....Rather than having to recall the date when their
parent died, respondents have only to indicate the relative timing of
two major events in their lives. After a brief explanation of the
techniques proposed for the analysis of such data, the chapter uses
them to investigate the decline in adult mortality since 1950 in four
Latin American countries."
Correspondence: I. M.
Timæus, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 99 Gower
Street, London WC1E 6AZ, England. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
Studies that present actual life table data and all studies concerned primarily with life tables, including the appropriate methodological studies. Life table studies that are concerned with topics other than mortality are classified under the appropriate heading and cross-referenced to this heading.
62:30131 Blum, Alain; Troitskaja,
Irina. Mortality in Russia during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries: local assessments based on the Revizii. [La
mortalité en Russie aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles:
estimations locales à partir des Revizii.] Population, Vol. 51,
No. 2, Mar-Apr 1996. 303-28 pp. Paris, France. In Fre. with sum. in
Eng; Spa.
"Little is known about the historical demography of
the Tsarist empire, as the study of historical demography never really
developed in Russia. But there exist valuable sources, richer than in
most European states, during the eighteenth century which can be used
by researchers. In this paper [the authors] briefly describe the
revizii--census-type nominal data...which cover the period from the
early eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century and use them to
construct [life tables] for the Moscow region between 1750 and 1850.
[The authors] compare [their] estimates with other [life tables] for
the period, and with attempts to construct tables in Russia during the
later half of the nineteenth century. [They] show that in the middle
eighteenth century, mortality in Russia was comparable to that in
France, but that a century later, Russian mortality remained unchanged,
whereas French mortality had declined markedly." The population
studied consists of about 10,000 males.
Correspondence: A.
Blum, Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques, 27 rue du
Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex 14, France. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
62:30132 Kannisto, Väinö; Nieminen,
Mauri. Revised life tables for Finland, 1881-1990.
Väestö/Befolkning/Population, No. 1996:2, ISBN 951-727-160-3.
1996. 67 pp. Tilastokeskus: Helsinki, Finland. In Eng.
"This
publication contains the revised life tables by estimating the old age
populations by the method of extinct cohorts and offers to users the
resulting life tables which cover a period of 110 years." In
comparison with previous life tables for Finland, significant upward
corrections were made to old-age death rates for the earlier part of
the twentieth century. After 1945, however, any differences were
negligible.
Correspondence: Tilastokeskus, P.O. Box 3B,
00022 Helsinki, Finland. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30133 Mitra, S.; Levin, Martin L.
Principal components analysis of the logits of the survivorship
function. Janasamkhya, Vol. 11, No. 1, Jun 1993. 1-17 pp.
Kariavattom, India. In Eng.
"We have demonstrated the adequacy
of two factors to reproduce the life table survivorship function
through its logit transformation. Therefore, by choosing appropriate
values for the factor scores within their permissible ranges of
variation, sets of model life tables can be constructed which may
provide [an] alternative to published model tables....The method of
principal components used in this study provides a way of determining
the extent to which an observed life table can be
reproduced."
Correspondence: S. Mitra, Emory
University, Department of Sociology, Atlanta, GA 30322. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
Studies on the ratio of mortality in different subgroups of a population, classified according to certain criteria, such as sex, social class, occupation, and marital status. Also includes studies on excess mortality and comparative mortality.
62:30134 Bennett, Stan.
Socioeconomic inequalities in coronary heart disease and stroke
mortality among Australian men, 1979-1993. International Journal
of Epidemiology, Vol. 25, No. 2, Apr 1996. 266-75 pp. Oxford, England.
In Eng.
"During the 1970s in Australia, mortality from
coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke was higher among lower
socioeconomic groups and inequalities were widening. This analysis
examines subsequent trends in socioeconomic inequalities, with
reference to socioeconomic patterns in major cardiovascular risk
factors....Socioeconomic status was defined by occupation.
Age-standardized mortality rates were calculated for men aged 25-64,
using death registration data and labour force estimates for
1979-1993....Men in manual occupations were at least 35% more likely to
die from CHD than men in professional occupations, and 60% more likely
to die from stroke. Their 5-year population risk of a coronary event
was 30% higher. Since 1979, both groups experienced reductions in
coronary risk and mortality."
Correspondence: S.
Bennett, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, G.P.O. Box 570,
Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30135 Bethune, Ann. Economic
activity and mortality of the 1981 census cohort in the OPCS
Longitudinal Study. Population Trends, No. 83, Spring 1996. 37-42
pp. London, England. In Eng.
"This article presents mortality
from 1981 to 1989 for men and women in England and Wales of working
ages by their economic activity at the 1981 Census. Both men and women
in employment had lower overall mortality compared with that of all
men, while those seeking work had higher mortality. The social class
distribution of the unemployed did not explain all their excess deaths.
The overall mortality of both employed and unemployed men relative to
all men in the 1980s was lower than that of employed and unemployed men
in the 1970s (1971-79) relative to all men in the
1970s."
Correspondence: A. Bethune, Office of
Population Censuses and Surveys, Longitudinal Study Unit, St.
Catherine's House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP, England. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30136 Blair, Steven N.; Kampert, James B.;
Kohl, Harold W.; Barlow, Carolyn E.; Macera, Caroline A.; Paffenbarger,
Ralph S.; Gibbons, Larry W. Influences of
cardiorespiratory fitness and other precursors on cardiovascular
disease and all-cause mortality in men and women. JAMA: Journal of
the American Medical Association, Vol. 276, No. 3, Jul 17, 1996. 205-10
pp. Chicago, Illinois. In Eng.
The purpose of this article is to
quantify the relation of fitness to risk of cardiovascular disease and
all-cause mortality within strata of other predictors of early
mortality. The data, which concern 25,341 U.S. men and 7,080 women,
were collected between 1970 and 1989 in the Aerobics Center
Longitudinal Study. The results indicate that the protective effect of
fitness holds for both smokers and nonsmokers, for those with or
without elevated cholesterol levels or elevated blood pressure, and for
both healthy and unhealthy persons.
Correspondence: S. N.
Blair, Cooper Insitute for Aerobics Research, 12330 Preston Road,
Dallas, TX 75230. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
62:30137 Charlton, John. Which
areas are healthiest? Population Trends, No. 83, Spring 1996.
17-24 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"This article compares
mortality rates by geography and over time. This is done by analysing,
for England and Wales, mortality data from 1981 to 1992 by cause, local
authority, and ward, using the new OPCS area classifications, and the
urban/rural categorization of 1991 Census enumeration districts based
on land use. The proportion of babies who in 1990-92 were lightweight
at birth was also examined. Urban areas (particularly purpose-built
inner city estates and deprived industrial areas) tend to be the least
healthy. Rural and prosperous areas are the most healthy, and the
biggest health gains have been made in
these."
Correspondence: J. Charlton, Office of
Population Censuses and Surveys, Health Statistics, St. Catherine's
House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B 6JP, England. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30138 Guest, Avery M.; Almgren, Gunnar;
Hussey, Jon M. The ecology of race and socio-economic
distress: working age mortality in Chicago. Seattle Population
Research Center Working Paper, No. 96-8, Mar 1996. 41, [10] pp.
University of Washington, Seattle Population Research Center: Seattle,
Washington; Battelle Seattle Research Center: Seattle, Washington. In
Eng.
"This paper explores variation during the 1989-91 period
in age-specific mortality patterns across racially-defined community
areas in the city of Chicago. Special attention is devoted to high
mortality in the prime working age which is particularly characteristic
of black populations in Chicago, especially men. Racial differences in
infant mortality are also quite evident but somewhat less pronounced
than those in the working ages. Black and nonblack populations have
relatively small differences in child and old age
mortality."
This is a revised version of a paper originally
presented at the 1995 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of
America.
Correspondence: University of Washington,
Department of Sociology, Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology,
Box 353340, Seattle, WA 98195. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30139 Hao, Hongsheng. A study
on the sex difference in mortality in China. Chinese Journal of
Population Science, Vol. 7, No. 4, 1995. 285-98 pp. New York, New York.
In Eng.
"Based on the mortality data obtained through the 1990
census in China and by comparing data from the rest of the world, this
study analyzes the sex difference in mortality among the Chinese
population....[Results show] a lower female mortality rate than male
mortality rate both across the country and in individual
regions....Female life expectancy at birth in China is approximately
3.2 years higher than male life expectancy, while sex difference in
mortality varies considerably from region to region....[The analysis]
reveals lower female mortality than male mortality at most ages except
among infants, and the difference more in favor of women in elderly age
brackets."
Correspondence: H. Hao, People's University
of China, Institute of Population Studies, 39 Haidian Road, Haidian
District, Beijing, China. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30140 Harding, S.; Balarajan, R.
Patterns of mortality in second generation Irish living in England
and Wales: longitudinal study. British Medical Journal, Vol. 312,
No. 7043, Jun 1, 1996. 1,389-92 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The
mortality of second-generation Irish living in England and Wales is
analyzed. The data concern 3,075 men and 3,233 women aged 15 and over
in 1971. The cohort was followed up until 1989 using data from a
longitudinal study developed from official data. The results indicate
that "mortality of second generation Irish men and women was
higher than that of all men and all women and for most major causes of
death. While socioeconomic factors remain important, cultural and
lifestyle factors are likely to contribute to this adverse
mortality."
Correspondence: S. Harding, Office for
National Statistics, St. Catherine's House, 10 Kingsway, London WC2B
6JP, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
62:30141 Hemström, Örjan.
Is marriage dissolution linked to differences in mortality risks
for men and women? Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 58,
No. 2, May 1996. 366-78 pp. Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Eng.
"Is marriage dissolution linked to differences in mortality
risks for men and women? This study, based on 44,000 deaths in Sweden,
analyzes the impact of the event of marriage dissolution on subsequent
mortality using sex-specific intensity regression models. The results
show an excess mortality among people who are remarried and cohabiting,
especially among women, and provide evidence for a long-term, causal
relationship between marriage dissolution and mortality. The results
also show that there is a narrower gender mortality difference than
expected when work status and number of children are taken into
consideration and that women who are not employed, as well as unskilled
male workers, are in particularly vulnerable situations at divorce.
Aspects of the divorce process, selection, protection, and stress
factors may be responsible for the
outcome."
Correspondence: Ö. Hemström,
Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research, 106 91
Stockholm, Sweden. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
62:30142 Hummer, Robert A.
Black-white differences in health and mortality: a review and
conceptual model. Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, Winter
1996. 105-25 pp. Berkeley, California. In Eng.
"An important
segment of social science research focuses on differences in health and
mortality between the African American and non-Hispanic white
populations in the United States. This article begins by documenting
some of the current health and mortality differences. I then review and
critique the three major theoretical approaches that are most often
used to explain such differences: racial genetic, cultural/behavioral,
and socioeconomic. Finally, I present an alternative conceptual
framework for the study of black-white differences in health and
mortality. This reorientation of the importance of race for health and
mortality moves beyond narrow genetic, cultural/behavioral, or
socioeconomic representations to include, most importantly, multiple
forms of racism as crucial sociological determinants of health and
mortality differentials. Key sets of intervening, or proximate,
variables are also identified to specify the process by which the
health and mortality differentials are
created."
Correspondence: R. A. Hummer, Louisiana
State University, Department of Sociology, 126 Stubbs Hall, Baton
Rouge, LA 70803-5411. Location: Princeton University Library
(PR).
62:30143 Korenman, Sanders; Goldman, Noreen;
Fu, Haishan. Refining estimates of marital status
differences in mortality at older ages. NBER Working Paper, No.
182, Jul 1995. 27, [8] pp. National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER]:
Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Eng.
"The main objective of this
analysis is to demonstrate that some of the limitations that have
characterized recent studies of the relationship between marital status
and health outcomes may result in biased estimates of marital status
differences in mortality among the elderly. A secondary goal is to
evaluate the strength of evidence in support of the excess risks of
mortality associated with widowhood, once we are able to eliminate or
mitigate many of the limitations experienced by other studies. Our
results [are] based on the 1984-1990 [U.S.] Longitudinal Study of
Aging...."
This is a revised version of a paper originally
presented at the 1995 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of
America.
Correspondence: National Bureau of Economic
Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30144 Mackenbach, Johan P.; Kunst, Anton
E. Socio-economic and cultural determinants of regional
mortality patterns in the Netherlands. In: Adult mortality in
developed countries: from description to explanation, edited by Alan D.
Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 286-303 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The analysis presented in this chapter is an attempt to
assess the contribution of socio-economic and cultural factors to the
explanation of regional mortality patterns in the Netherlands based on
a multivariate analysis of the association between district mortality
and socio-economic and cultural characteristics in 1980-4, as well as
an analysis of the evolution over time of these associations since
1950-4. The latter part of this chapter includes a more detailed
analysis of changes over time in the association between socio-economic
factors and mortality from two specific causes of death, ischaemic
heart disease and lung cancer."
Correspondence: J. P.
Mackenbach, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50,
P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, Netherlands. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30145 Marmot, Michael. Social
differentials in mortality: the Whitehall studies. In: Adult
mortality in developed countries: from description to explanation,
edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995.
243-60 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for
the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"National data are crucial in describing differences across
the whole of society, and in charting trends. Investigations of reasons
for social inequalities in mortality must also include specially
conducted studies. This chapter starts with national data in England
and Wales and then uses data from the two Whitehall studies of British
Civil Servants to investigate possible explanations of social class
differences in mortality and morbidity."
Correspondence:
M. Marmot, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E
6BT, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30146 Meslé, France.
Mortality in Eastern and Western Europe: a widening gap. In:
Europe's population in the 1990s, edited by David Coleman. 1996. 127-43
pp. Oxford University Press: New York, New York/Oxford, England. In
Eng.
"This chapter describes the main features of mortality
trends by age and by cause in Eastern European countries, focusing on
the period 1970-90. After giving an overview of the changes in life
expectancy at birth, we shall describe more precisely mortality trends
in two eastern countries, Bulgaria and Hungary, and compare them with
those of two western countries: England and Wales, and
France."
Correspondence: F. Meslé, Institut
National d'Etudes Démographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675
Paris Cedex 14, France. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
62:30147 Morelos, José B.; Ehrenfeld,
Noemi. Differential mortality in women of reproductive
age. [La mortalidad diferencial de las mujeres en edades
reproductivas.] Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos, Vol. 9, No. 3,
Sep-Dec 1994. 521-42, 783 pp. Mexico City, Mexico. In Spa. with sum. in
Eng.
"This paper begins by reviewing some conceptual
frameworks for the study of female mortality and indicates some of its
application problems. Next it presents results of mortality of women in
reproductive-age classified by age, causes of death, and
socio-demographic traits (marital status, schooling, and occupation)
for ten states [in Mexico] differentiated according to level of
development and well-being. The data suggests differences according to
age, marital status, and schooling. Finally, testing of the mutual
independence and partial independence hypotheses indicates that age,
marital status, and schooling correlate to the degree of development of
each state."
Correspondence: J. B. Morelos, El Colegio
de México, Centro de Estudios Demográficos y de
Desarrollo Urbano, Camino al Ajusco 20, 10740 Mexico City, DF, Mexico.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30148 Nathanson, Constance A.
Mortality and the position of women in developed countries.
In: Adult mortality in developed countries: from description to
explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani
Valkonen. 1995. 135-57 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England;
International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]:
Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The late twentieth-century movement
of women in many developed countries away from an exclusive involvement
in the domestic sphere of home and family into the public world of paid
employment and political action has led many observers to speculate on
the consequences of this movement for women's mortality, and to
anticipate that women will acquire men's mortality risks along with
other characteristics conventionally attributed to the masculine
role....The arguments we have presented link women's movement toward
equal status with men to women's smoking and women's smoking to higher
female mortality rates. The first step in this analysis will be briefly
to review current evidence for the existence of these links. This
review is divided into two parts. In the first part, we examine
evidence for a direct association between women's position and their
mortality. The second part is focused on the intermediate links that
tie smoking, first to women's position and, secondly to their
mortality."
Correspondence: C. A. Nathanson, Johns
Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Department of
Population Dynamics, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30149 Pollard, John H. On the
changing shape of the Australian mortality curve. Actuarial
Studies and Demography Research Paper, No. 008/95, ISBN 1-86408-102-3.
Sep 1995. 18, [18] pp. Macquarie University, School of Economic and
Financial Studies: Sydney, Australia. In Eng.
"Over the course
of the twentieth century, mortality rates in Australia have shown
substantial improvements at all ages....The most noticeable change for
males has been the development of an `accident hump' in the late teens
and early twenties mid century, the growth of this `hump' in the 1960s
and 1970s, and its sudden disappearance (or transformation into a
bulge) in the late 1980s. In this paper, we examine the reasons for the
disappearance of the male `accident hump'. We also study the changes in
mortality by cause which have occurred over the decade to 1992 and
influenced the level and shape of the whole mortality curve both for
males and for females."
Correspondence: Macquarie
University, School of Economic and Financial Studies, Sydney, NSW 2109,
Australia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30150 Rogers, Richard G.; Hummer, Robert
A.; Nam, Charles B.; Peters, Kimberley. Demographic,
socioeconomic, and behavioral factors affecting ethnic mortality by
cause. Social Forces, Vol. 74, No. 4, Jun 1996. 1,419-38 pp.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In Eng.
"This article examines
ethnic differences in total and cause-specific mortality. We employ the
linked [U.S.] National Health Interview Survey-National Death Index
(NHIS-NDI) to examine ethnic differences in mortality from a
combination of demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics
perspectives. We find that Asian American mortality is low in part
because of healthy behaviors and socioeconomic advantages; that
Caucasian American mortality is higher partly because of high
prevalence and quantity of cigarette smoking; and that Mexican, Native,
and African American mortality is higher partly from socioeconomic
disadvantages. These results give us added insight into the
demographic, social, and health mechanisms that lead us to persevere or
to perish."
Correspondence: R. G. Rogers, University
of Colorado, Population Program, Campus Box 484, Boulder, CO
80309-0484. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30151 Salhi, Mohamed; Caselli, Graziella;
Duchêne, Josianne; Egidi, Viviana; Santini, Antonio;
Thiltgès, Evelyne; Wunsch, Guillaume. Assessing
mortality differentials using life histories: a method and
applications. In: Adult mortality in developed countries: from
description to explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli,
and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 57-79 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England;
International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]:
Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The approach we have developed here,
based on life history data [for Norway], presents a new way of
analysing mortality differentials by taking account of the individual's
past life experience in order to explain this duration of life. Each
life will thus be composed of a succession of states through which the
individual passes, these states being determined on the basis of
modifiable or unmodifiable factors having either a positive or a
negative impact on one's health capital. Concerning the causal
mechanism we propose here, an individual's risk of dying would depend
only on his health capital which varies over time according to his life
history. Other assumptions could, however, be
made...."
Correspondence: M. Salhi, Université
Catholique de Louvain, Institut de Démographie, 1 place
Montesquieu, B.P. 17, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30152 Smith, George D.; Neaton, James D.;
Wentworth, Deborah; Stamler, Rose; Stamler, Jeremiah.
Socioeconomic differentials in mortality risk among men screened
for the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial: I. White men.
American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 86, No. 4, Apr 1996. 486-96 pp.
Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This study examined socioeconomic
differentials in risk of death from a number of specific causes in a
large cohort of White men in the United States....For 300,685 White men
screened for the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial between 1973
and 1975, data were collected on median income of White households in
the zip code of residence, age, cigarette smoking, blood pressure,
serum cholesterol, previous myocardial infarction, and drug treatment
for diabetes....There was an inverse association between age-adjusted
all-cause mortality and median family income. There was no attenuation
of this association over the follow-up period, and the association was
similar for the 22 clinical centers carrying out the screening. The
gradient was seen for many--but not all--of the specific causes of
death. Other risk factors accounted for some of the association between
income and coronary heart disease and smoking related
cancers."
Correspondence: G. D. Smith, University of
Bristol, Department of Social Medicine, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road,
Bristol BS8 2PR, England. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
62:30153 Smith, George D.; Wentworth, Deborah;
Neaton, James D.; Stamler, Rose; Stamler, Jeremiah.
Socioeconomic differentials in mortality risk among men screened
for the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial: II. Black men.
American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 86, No. 4, Apr 1996. 497-504
pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This study examined
socioeconomic differentials in risk of death from a number of causes in
a large cohort of Black men in the United States....For 20,224 Black
men screened for the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial between
1973 and 1975, data were collected on median family income of Black
households in zip code of residence, age, cigarette smoking, blood
pressure, serum cholesterol, previous heart attack and drug treatment
for diabetes....There was an inverse association between age-adjusted
all-cause mortality and median family income. There was no attenuation
of this association over the follow-up period, and the association was
similar for the 22 clinical centers carrying out the screening. The
gradient was seen for most of the specific causes of death, although
the strength of the association varied. Median income was markedly
lower for the Black men screened than for the White men, but the
relationship between income and all-cause mortality was
similar."
Correspondence: G. D. Smith, University of
Bristol, Department of Social Medicine, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road,
Bristol BS8 2PR, England. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
62:30154 Thiltgès, Evelyne;
Duchêne, Josianne; Wunsch, Guillaume. Causal
theories and models in the study of mortality. In: Adult mortality
in developed countries: from description to explanation, edited by Alan
D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 21-36 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"Mortality analyses intended to help explain differences in
survival between groups or individuals must be based on some sort of
theoretical framework which defines possible causal pathways. Issues of
importance in the development of such frameworks are presented in
[this] study...based on a review of several studies. At the same time,
the authors have provided a comprehensive review of the status of
mortality and, more generally, epidemiological transition theories,
focusing on explanations of differential mortality among social classes
and conceptual frameworks for cardio-vascular diseases. This is
complemented by a discussion of some of the actuarial and demographic
models commonly used in mortality analysis." The geographical
focus is on developed countries.
Correspondence: E.
Thiltgès, Université Catholique de Louvain, Institut de
Démographie, 1 place Montesquieu, B.P. 17, 1348
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30155 Thiltgès, Evelyne.
Mortality differences in Norway. Two biographical data analyses and
one question about female mortality differentials. Polish
Population Review, No. 7, 1995. 103-15 pp. Warsaw, Poland. In Eng.
"The aim of this paper is, first, to give an overview of the
local history approach developed in adult mortality differentials;
secondly, to present its potentiality compared with a more usual
approach....Our methodology was applied to Norwegian
data."
Correspondence: E. Thiltgès,
Université Catholique de Louvain, Place de l'Université
1, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
62:30156 Thumerelle, Pierre-Jean.
Geographical changes in mortality in France. [Les changements
géographiques de la mortalité en France.] Espace,
Populations, Sociétés, No. 1, 1996. 65-78 pp. Villeneuve
d'Ascq, France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng.
"It seems that gains
in life expectancy [in France] have had no result on the geographical
repartition of general mortality indicators during the last thirty
years, the maintenance of regional demographic oppositions reproducing
in a way that of socio-cultural structures. Inertia is not entire, but
changes can only [take] effect during several generations. They are
especially discernible at the young ages but we don't know if they are
likely to continue later."
Correspondence: P.-J.
Thumerelle, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille,
UFR de Géographie, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30157 Vågerö, Denny; Lundberg,
Olle. Socio-economic mortality differentials among adults
in Sweden. In: Adult mortality in developed countries: from
description to explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli,
and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 223-42 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England;
International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]:
Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"In this chapter we will show the
extent to which social classes differed with respect to adult mortality
in Sweden in the 1980s. Further, we will address the issue of whether
or not mortality differences are actually changing in size by comparing
socio-economic differences in mortality for two periods, 1961-5 and
1981-6. In the final section, possible causal factors associated with
observed socio-economic differences will be discussed as well as
reasons for changes in these differences. In this discussion we will
draw on earlier analyses of morbidity. We will discuss whether factors
such as work, childhood conditions, and individual behaviour could
account for trends in morbidity and mortality differences. The chapter
will also discuss the more general problem of explanation, as it
applies to socio-economic mortality
differences."
Correspondence: D. Vågerö,
Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research, 106 91
Stockholm, Sweden. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
62:30158 Valkonen, Tapani; Martikainen,
Pekka. The association between unemployment and mortality:
causation or selection? In: Adult mortality in developed
countries: from description to explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez,
Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 201-22 pp. Clarendon
Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the Scientific Study of
Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter
attempts to evaluate the importance of the causal effect of
unemployment on mortality and is divided into three parts. The first
part briefly discusses earlier research. The discussion is not limited
to studies on mortality, but selected studies on morbidity are also
included. The second part presents the main results of a study on
unemployment and mortality among Finnish men carried out by one of the
authors....The third part is an attempt to study the effect of
unemployment on mortality by utilizing opportunities for `natural
experiments' connected with the rapid increase of unemployment in
Finland after the oil crisis of the
mid-1970s."
Correspondence: T. Valkonen, University of
Helsinki, Department of Sociology, Hameentie 68B, 00550 Helsinki,
Finland. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30159 Vallin, Jacques. Can sex
differentials in mortality be explained by socio-economic mortality
differentials? In: Adult mortality in developed countries: from
description to explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli,
and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 179-200 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford,
England; International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
[IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"Can sex mortality
differentials be largely explained by socio-economic differentials in
mortality? This is a difficult question which can be considered from
many different angles. In this chapter, I will attempt to define one
possible approach. Social inequality in mortality is known to be much
greater among men than among women. Could that explain, all other
things being equal, men's higher mortality?...[The study is based on
French data from] the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes
Economiques (INSEE) second longitudinal mortality
survey."
Correspondence: J. Vallin, Institut National
d'Etudes Démographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex
14, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30160 Wilkins, Russell.
Policy-relevant health information: the Canadian experience in
assessing socio-economic differentials in mortality. In: Adult
mortality in developed countries: from description to explanation,
edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995.
307-26 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for
the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
The author provides "a detailed overview of how non-routine
data sources [in Canada] can be fully exploited to yield valuable
policy-relevant information about the nature and extent of health
inequalities among adults, stressing the need to take both risk factors
and risk conditions into account. That is, health information systems
must monitor not only the prevalence, distribution, and trends of risk
factors for disease and injury, but equally be concerned with
differentials in community-level conditions including the workplace,
education, poverty, the environment, housing, and the like." The
focus is on how such data can be used to analyze socioeconomic
differences in mortality.
Correspondence: R. Wilkins,
Statistics Canada, Health Statistics Division, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6,
Canada. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
Studies of demographic relevance on causes of death. Studies of morbidity and of public health measures are included only if they relate specifically to mortality. Also included are maternal mortality and comparisons of causes.
62:30161 Anzola-Pérez, Elías;
Bangdiwala, Shrikant I. The changing structure of deaths
from injuries and violence. In: Adult mortality in Latin America,
edited by Ian M. Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996.
306-36 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for
the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter focuses on trends in mortality due to traffic
accidents and acts of violence in the twenty-year period from 1968 to
1987 in selected countries of Latin America and the Caribbean."
Sections are included on categories of violent deaths; studies that
have been conducted in Latin America; and analysis of data for 38
countries.
Correspondence: E. Anzola-Pérez, Pan
American Health Organization, 525 23rd Street NW, Washington, D.C.
20037. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30162 Bah, Sulaiman M.
Indirect estimation of cause of death structure in Africa and
contemporary theories of mortality. Social Biology, Vol. 42, No.
3-4, Fall-Winter 1995. 247-55 pp. Port Angeles, Washington. In Eng.
"This paper is a critical assessment of techniques used for
the estimation of cause of death structure in Africa in the light of
contemporary theories of mortality. The technique mostly used for the
indirect estimation of cause of death structure is based on the
mortality experience in Western countries. With the marked differences
in the epidemiologic transition experienced in Western countries and
those being experienced in African countries, it is not very likely
that an estimation of cause of death structure based on data from the
former can accurately estimate cause of death structure in the latter.
This argument is supported in the paper through a comparison of
observed estimates of cause of death structure for some African
populations with indirect estimates. It is proposed that a better
approach is to use a residual method whereby one proceeds from nearly
true estimates of cause of death rates to obtain estimates for unknown
causes via the known general mortality."
Correspondence:
S. M. Bah, University of Zimbabwe, Department of Sociology,
Population Studies Programme, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30163 Beaglehole, Robert.
Conceptual frameworks for the investigation of mortality from major
cardio-vascular diseases. In: Adult mortality in developed
countries: from description to explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez,
Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 37-56 pp. Clarendon
Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the Scientific Study of
Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter
reviews the aetiology of the two major cardio-vascular diseases in
developed countries (coronary heart disease and stroke), presents
selected population-based data on the prevalence and determinants of
the major cardio-vascular disease risk factors, and examines the social
and medical responses to the cardio-vascular disease epidemics....It is
quite clear that epidemiological research and its application with
regard to vascular diseases have been hampered by inadequate attention
to a conceptual framework. A framework is required which integrates
approaches which individually have been used with only limited success.
Since the clinical expression of cardio-vascular disease represents the
final common pathway for a wide range of influences, the conceptual
framework should incorporate the powerful social and economic
determinants of cardio-vascular disease."
Correspondence:
R. Beaglehole, University of Auckland, School of Medicine,
Department of Community Health and General Practice, Private Bag,
Auckland, New Zealand. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
62:30164 Bhattacharya, Jay; Garber, Alan M.;
MaCurdy, Thomas. Cause-specific mortality among Medicare
enrollees. NBER Working Paper, No. 5409, Jan 1996. 16, [6] pp.
National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER]: Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In Eng.
"Life tables with specific causes of death,
particularly when adjusted for demographic and other personal
characteristics, can be important components of cost-effectiveness and
other economic studies. However, there are few sources of nationally
representative information that can be used to develop life tables that
incorporate cause-specific mortality. To produce such estimates, we
relate annual [U.S.] mortality rates to a set of individual
characteristics, applying a statistical model with a flexible
functional form to data obtained from a random sample of Medicare
eligibility and hospital insurance files, covering the years
1986-1990....The survival figures are comparable to the life table
figures supplied as part of the series of vital statistics of the
United States."
Correspondence: National Bureau of
Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Location: Princeton University Library (PF).
62:30165 Bongaarts, John. Global
trends in AIDS mortality. Population and Development Review, Vol.
22, No. 1, Mar 1996. 21-45, 201, 203 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
with sum. in Fre; Spa.
"Since the late 1970s, the AIDS
epidemic has spread rapidly worldwide, and by mid-1995 a cumulative
total of approximately 18.5 million adults had been infected with HIV,
the epidemic's etiological agent. A set of projections of the annual
number of AIDS cases and AIDS deaths from 1995 to 2005 for each of the
world's major regions is presented. The epidemic is expected to
continue to grow rapidly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. By
contrast, in North America and Europe the annual number of new AIDS
cases is projected to level off in the next few years. The effect of
the epidemic on the death rate will be highest in sub-Saharan Africa,
but population growth in this region will remain
high."
Correspondence: J. Bongaarts, Population
Council, Research Division, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY
10017. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30166 Brunborg, Helge.
Demographic consequences of AIDS, with special reference to
Zambia. In: Demography, economy and welfare, edited by Christer
Lundh. 1995. 396-415 pp. Lund University Press: Lund, Sweden;
Chartwell-Bratt: Bromley, England. In Eng.
"This paper will
look at some of the demographic consequences of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan
Africa, with a special emphasis on Zambia. Considerable attention is
given to data problems....Our results are similar to the results of
other projections, including the intermediate scenarios of the
projections presented by UN and WHO (1991). AIDS reduces population
growth but not by as much as often believed. The age structure is
hardly affected at all. The most dramatic demographic effect is the
increase in the number of deaths and the crude death rate, which may
lead to a reduction in the life expectancy at birth of about 10
years."
Correspondence: H. Brunborg, Statistisk
Sentralbyrå, Research Department, Post Box 8131 Dep., 0033 Oslo
1, Norway. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30167 Dominican Republic. Oficina Nacional
de Estadística [ONE] (Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic). Causes of death, 1980-1989. [Defunciones
según la causa, 1980-1989.] División Demografía
Boletin, No. 1, Jun 1993. 64 pp. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In
Spa.
Data are presented on causes of death in the Dominican
Republic for the period 1980-1989. The data provided are by age, sex,
and province.
Correspondence: Oficina Nacional de
Estadística, Apartado de Correos No. 1342, Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
62:30168 Figa'-Talamanca, Irene.
Maternal mortality and the problem of accessibility to obstetric
care; the strategy of maternity waiting homes. Social Science and
Medicine, Vol. 42, No. 10, May 1996. 1,381-90 pp. Tarrytown, New
York/Oxford, England. In Eng.
"One of the major causes of
maternal mortality is the distance and consequent delay in treatment of
childbirth complications. Some developing countries are attempting to
reduce delays in treatment by moving women at risk into maternity
waiting homes (MWHs), located near a hospital, a few days prior to the
date of confinement. This paper illustrates some typical examples of
MWHs in different countries. The approach of MWHs is appropriate in
some settings but it requires a high degree of coordination between
peripheral prenatal care services and second and third level health
care facilities. This study discusses some of the issues related to the
successful functioning of MWHs, and provides an analytical framework
for the planning, management and evaluation of these
facilities."
Correspondence: I. Figa'-Talamanca,
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento di
Biologia Dell'Uomo, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Location: Princeton University Library (PR).
62:30169 Hummer, Robert A.; Nam, Charles B.;
Rogers, Richard G. Premature adult mortality risks
associated with cigarette smoking in the United States. Center for
the Study of Population Working Paper, No. 96-132, [1996]. 25, [4] pp.
Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Center for the
Study of Population: Tallahassee, Florida. In Eng.
"Cigarette
smoking is a critical variable that affects health and survival. In
earlier works, the authors used nationally-representative [U.S.] data
to show that cause-of-death patterns varied by smoking status and that
multiple causes of death were more frequently associated with smokers
than non-smokers. In addition, smoking patterns vary by age and sex.
The present work extends previous analysis by estimating the mortality
risks of different smoking statuses by underlying and multiple causes
of death within categories of age and sex. Data from the 1986 National
Mortality Followback Survey are related to data from the 1985 and 1987
National Health Interview Survey supplements to assess the mortality
risks. We find that smoking is associated with higher mortality risks
for all population categories studied, that the risks differ by smoking
category and demographic group, and that the risks also vary according
to whether underlying-cause or multiple-cause patterns of death are
examined."
Correspondence: Florida State University,
Center for the Study of Population, 659-C Bellamy Building,
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4063. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30170 Koskinen, Seppo.
Regional differences in mortality from ischaemic heart disease in
Finland. In: Adult mortality in developed countries: from
description to explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli,
and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 261-85 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England;
International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]:
Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The purpose of this study is to
assess the role of the possible causal factors...in the geographic
variation of IHD [ischemic heart disease] mortality using a large
individual based data set [for Finland]. The role of the main
socio-demographic factors can be examined directly as these are
included in the data set. Biological, behavioural, and genetic
characteristics of individuals, on the other hand, are not included in
the data and neither are features of the natural environment.
Inferences concerning these factors will therefore be based on indirect
judgement, making use of results concerning the stability of regional
differences in IHD, their similarity with regard to socio-demographic
subgroups of the population, their connection with region of birth
versus region of residence, and finally, their specificity to
IHD."
Correspondence: S. Koskinen, University of
Helsinki, Department of Sociology, Hameentie 68B, 00550 Helsinki,
Finland.
62:30171 Lopez, Alan D. The lung
cancer epidemic in developed countries. In: Adult mortality in
developed countries: from description to explanation, edited by Alan D.
Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 111-34 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The epidemic of lung cancer has...emerged as one of the
principal public health issues of the latter part of the twentieth
century and, with few exceptions, there is no indication that the
epidemic is abating, especially among women. This chapter will first
review the course of the epidemic in developed countries since 1950 and
then attempt to quantify the impact of major risk factors which have
determined the trends in lung cancer mortality. The data used in this
study are national mortality statistics reported to the World Health
Organization covering the period 1950 to 1990." The importance of
smoking as a cause of lung cancer is stressed.
Correspondence:
A. D. Lopez, World Health Organization, Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva
27, Switzerland. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30172 Marconi, Elida. Use of
vital statistics on maternal deaths in Argentina. In: Adult
mortality in Latin America, edited by Ian M. Timæus, Juan
Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 69-86 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford,
England; International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
[IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter presents both a
description of the quality of mortality data in the Argentine System of
Vital Statistics and research on maternal mortality undertaken within
the area of the Federal Capital, based on direct measurement using data
from death statistics reports cross-checked with corresponding medical
histories (corroboration). After an evaluation of the initial results
and an adjustment of the methodology, the research has been extended to
three other provinces in the country: Tucumán, Córdoba,
and Corrientes."
Correspondence: E. Marconi,
Ministerio de Salud y Acción Social, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30173 McDaniel, Antonio; London, Andrew
S. HIV mortality and the African American population.
National Journal of Sociology, Vol. 9, No. 1, Summer 1995. 85-111 pp.
Austin, Texas. In Eng.
"We assess racial differences in the
impact of the HIV epidemic by comparing estimates of HIV mortality [in
the United States] among African Americans and whites separately by
sex. Total HIV death rates increased from 1987 to 1991 primarily as a
result of increases in age-specific HIV death rates among 20 to 55
year-olds. For both males and females, total and age-specific HIV death
rates and probabilities of dying from HIV are substantially higher
among African Americans than among whites. Most HIV deaths have
occurred among non-Hispanic white males; however, HIV death rates have
consistently been higher in the African American population. As the
demography of the HIV epidemic changes, the impact of HIV mortality on
African Americans is likely to increase."
Correspondence:
A. McDaniel, University of Pennsylvania, Population Studies
Center, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6298. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30174 Pozo Rivera, Enrique; Garcia
Ballesteros, Aurora. Geographical disparities of mortality
by causes of death in Madrid. [Les inégalités
géographiques de la mortalité en fonction des causes de
décès à Madrid.] Espace, Populations,
Sociétés, No. 1, 1996. 121-30 pp. Villeneuve d'Ascq,
France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng.
"In Madrid the spatial
distribution analysis of general death rates and of main death causes
shows the presence of similar spatial configurations in opposition.
There is a north-east, east and south-east periphery plus several
southern quarters in the historical centre that have an unfavourable
situation, on one hand; and on the other hand, most northern areas in
the historical centre and the suburbs have a most favourable situation.
This opposition broadly reproduces socioeconomic and socio-cultural
inequalities found in Madrid, a population with a high socio-spatial
segregation. Therefore, social, economic and cultural variables are
very important and explain the spatial distribution of death rates,
since those variables are closely related to most risk factors
(consumption of tobacco and alcoholic beverages, environmental
pollution, food diet...etc)."
Correspondence: E. Pozo
Rivera, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Departamento de
Geografía Humana, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30175 Rajs, Danuta. Maternal
mortality. In: Adult mortality in Latin America, edited by Ian M.
Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 276-94 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
The
author analyzes trends in maternal mortality in Latin America and the
Caribbean. Sections are included on maternal mortality and fertility;
data quality; causes of maternal death; and the quality of health care.
"This chapter analyses data compiled for the Technical Information
System of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) together with
population estimates compiled by the Latin American Demographic Centre
(CELADE). These data have been supplemented with information on vital
statistics published by various countries."
Correspondence:
D. Rajs, Instituto Médico Legal, Santiago, Chile.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30176 Ram, F.; Dhar, Murali. A
modified procedure for calculating person years of life lost.
Janasamkhya, Vol. 10, No. 1-2, Jun 1992. 1-12 pp. Kariavattom, India.
In Eng.
"This study has proposed a modified procedure for the
calculation of PYLL [person years of life lost] which takes competing
risk of death into consideration. An application of the modified and
old procedures to the data on ten leading causes of death in Bombay
shows that the old procedure underestimates the actual PYLL in...all
the causes of death under study except dysentery, pneumonia and
prematurity. This study suggests tuberculosis, pneumonia, prematurity,
heart disease and dysentery in males and pneumonia, prematurity,
dysentery, tuberculosis and heart disease in females in that order, as
the first five leading causes of death in Bombay in
1984."
Correspondence: F. Ram, International Institute
for Population Sciences, Department of Fertility Studies, Govandi
Station Road, Deonar, Bombay 400 088, India. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30177 Ruiz, Magda; Rincón,
Manuel. Mortality from accidents and violence in
Colombia. In: Adult mortality in Latin America, edited by Ian M.
Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 337-58 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"By considering death as the central focus, we propose to
study the impact that various forms of violence and accidents have had
on some demographic indicators and on the dynamics of populations [in
Colombia]. Measurement of the effect is considered, separating causes
of accidents of all kinds, homicide, injuries inflicted intentionally
by another person, and suicide. Those injuries for which it is not
reported whether they were accidentally or intentionally inflicted,
legal interventions, and war operations are included in some measures
of homicide. The evolution of the problem over time, gender, and the
age of the affected groups are considered."
Correspondence:
M. Ruiz, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Avenida el Dorado Currera
50, Apartado Aéreo 80334, Bogota, Colombia. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30178 Ruzicka, Lado T. Suicide
mortality in developed countries. In: Adult mortality in developed
countries: from description to explanation, edited by Alan D. Lopez,
Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995. 83-110 pp. Clarendon
Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the Scientific Study of
Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
The author examines
suicide mortality in developed countries. The focus is on levels and
trends, age patterns, and correlates, including gender, marital status,
geography, social class, and economic
conditions.
Correspondence: L. T. Ruzicka, The Old School,
George Street, Major's Creek, nr. Braidwood, NSW 2622, Australia.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30179 Saunderson, Thomas R.; Langford, Ian
H. A study of the geographical distribution of suicide
rates in England and Wales 1989-92 using empirical Bayes
estimates. Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 43, No. 4, Aug 1996.
489-502 pp. Exeter, England. In Eng.
This study compares two
alternative methods for analyzing the geographical variations in
suicide mortality in England and Wales from 1989 to 1992. The authors
suggest that the empirical Bayes estimates method is superior to the
traditional method of mapping standardized mortality ratios, as the
relative risk of suicide is highly dependent on the population size of
the area under study. "Discernible trends of high risk are shown
in high population density, urban areas for both sexes, and in
economically depressed agricultural, rural areas for men. The effects
of economic hardship, unemployment and social disintegration are
suggested as contributing to this distribution in an initiatory or
exacerbatory capacity, for those suffering from psychiatric
vulnerability or existing mental illness. Suggestions are made for more
detailed analyses of high risk areas."
Correspondence:
T. R. Saunderson, University of East Anglia, School of
Environmental Sciences, Norwich NR4 7TJ, England. Location:
Princeton University Library (PR).
62:30180 Sawyer, Diana O. Malaria
mortality in Brazil. In: Adult mortality in Latin America, edited
by Ian M. Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 217-29
pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"This chapter focuses on some aspects of high internal
migration to the Brazilian Amazon which have led to an increase in the
number of cases of [malaria] and on the estimation of the malaria
mortality, which is believed to be low compared with the African and
Asian situations."
Correspondence: D. O. Sawyer,
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CEDEPLAR, Rua Curtiba 832, Belo
Horizonte 30170, MG, Brazil. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
62:30181 Simons, Harmen; Wong, Laura; Graham,
Wendy; Schkolnik, Susana. Experience with the sisterhood
method for estimating maternal mortality. In: Adult mortality in
Latin America, edited by Ian M. Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado
Ruzicka. 1996. 108-20 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England;
International Union for the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]:
Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"In response to growing interest and
concern about maternal mortality, W. Brass and W. Graham...developed in
late 1987 a new and relatively simple procedure for providing a
community-based estimate of the level of maternal mortality in
societies with limited alternative sources. The main objective of this
chapter is to describe and discuss the results of three applications of
the method in Latin America....The results from [Bolivia, Chile, and
Peru] vary substantially...but the sisterhood method consistently
produces higher figures than other data sources....This chapter has
stressed the importance of wording questions about sisters carefully in
order to arrive at a denominator which adequately reflects women at
risk."
Correspondence: H. Simons, Universidad
Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30182 Tan, Khye Chong; Pollard,
John. Mortality changes and life expectancy by cause of
death in Singapore, 1980-1990. Actuarial Studies and Demography
Research Paper, No. 0011/95, ISBN 1-86408-111-2. Sep 1995. 10, [11] pp.
Macquarie University, School of Economic and Financial Studies: Sydney,
Australia. In Eng.
"In this paper we investigate the changes
which have occurred to Singaporean life expectancy by sex and cause of
death from 1980 to 1990. Projected life tables for Singaporean males
and females in the year 2000 are obtained by extrapolating the
mortality trends observed for the various cause-specific
rates."
Correspondence: Macquarie University, School
of Economic and Financial Studies, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30183 Taucher, Erica; Albala, Cecilia;
Icaza, Gloria. Adult mortality from chronic diseases in
Chile, 1968-90. In: Adult mortality in Latin America, edited by
Ian M. Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 253-75 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The present study updates the information on time trends and
regional differentials presented in earlier investigations of Chilean
adult mortality [due to chronic disease]....In addition, rural and
urban differentials are analysed in an attempt to relate some causes of
environmental and lifestyle determinants. The influence of individual
socio-economic factors is sought by examining the structure of deaths
by educational level. Finally, comparison with other countries of the
Americas and some detailed comparison with USA mortality are used to
evaluate the Chilean situation."
Correspondence: E.
Taucher, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Bernardo O'Higgins 1058, Casilla
10-D, Santiago, Chile. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
62:30184 United States. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC] (Atlanta, Georgia). Trends in
rates of homicide--United States, 1985-1994. Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 45, No. 22, Jun 7, 1996. 460-4 pp.
Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
"To...assess the relative
contributions of firearm- and nonfirearm-related homicide to...recent
changes [in the United States], CDC analyzed national vital statistics
data for 1985-1994. This report summarizes this analysis, which
indicates that overall rates of homicide increased from 1985 to 1991
and decreased from 1992 to 1994, and that during these two periods,
rates for total firearm-related homicides and homicide among persons
aged 15-24 years increased then stabilized but remained at record-high
levels."
Correspondence: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30185 Vallin, Jacques. Causes
of adult death in low-mortality developing and developed
countries. In: Adult mortality in Latin America, edited by Ian M.
Timæus, Juan Chackiel, and Lado Ruzicka. 1996. 140-65 pp.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for the
Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
The
author compares causes of adult death in low-mortality developing and
developed countries worldwide as well as in Latin America. "This
short analysis suggests two conclusions. Firstly, infectious diseases
and diseases of the respiratory system (acute or otherwise) do not
contribute to the difference observed between those developing
countries where adult mortality is declining....and those in which it
is stagnant....The difference is not due to those diseases whose
decline marks the first stage of the epidemiological transition
(infection), but to causes which underlie the headway made recently in
the developed world (neoplasms, cirrhosis of liver, cerebrovascular and
cardiovascular diseases, injury and poisoning)....Secondly, forecasting
the future course of mortality among these forerunners calls for
caution."
Correspondence: J. Vallin, Institut National
d'Etudes Démographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex
14, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30186 Vandersmissen,
Marie-Hélène; Thomas, Isabelle; Morin, Denis.
Mortality and morbidity due to road accidents: a comparison of
Belgium and Quebec. [Mortalité et morbidité dues aux
accidents de la route: essai de comparaison Belgique-Québec.]
Population, Vol. 51, No. 1, Jan-Feb 1996. 196-206 pp. Paris, France. In
Fre.
Rates of mortality and morbidity associated with road
accidents in Quebec and Belgium are compared. The authors attempt to
show that the demographic characteristics of the victims of such
accidents are independent of the country in which the accident
occurs.
Correspondence: M.-H. Vandersmissen,
Université de Sherbrooke, Département de
Géographie et de Télédétection, 2500
Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1K 2R1, Canada.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30187 Waldron, Ingrid.
Contributions of biological and behavioural factors to changing sex
differences in ischaemic heart disease mortality. In: Adult
mortality in developed countries: from description to explanation,
edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen. 1995.
161-78 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England; International Union for
the Scientific Study of Population [IUSSP]: Liege, Belgium. In Eng.
"The evidence reviewed in this chapter indicates that sex
differences in ischaemic heart disease mortality are due to the
interacting effects of multiple biological and behavioural factors.
Men's higher rates of smoking and greater tendency to accumulate
abdominal body fat appear to be major contributors to their greater
risk of ischaemic heart disease. Women's sex hormones appear to reduce
their risk of ischaemic heart disease, probably in part by beneficial
effects on serum lipids. Other biological and behavioural factors which
may contribute to sex differences in ischaemic heart disease risk
include sex differences in iron levels, diet, and cynical
hostility." The geographical focus is on developed
countries.
Correspondence: I. Waldron, University of
Pennsylvania, Department of Biology, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
62:30188 Yuan, Jian-Min; Ross, Ronald K.;
Wang, Xue-Li; Gao, Yu-Tang; Henderson, Brian E.; Yu, Mimi C.
Morbidity and mortality in relation to cigarette smoking in
Shanghai, China: a prospective male cohort study. JAMA: Journal of
the American Medical Association, Vol. 275, No. 21, Jun 5, 1996.
1,646-50 pp. Chicago, Illinois. In Eng.
Health risks associated
with cigarette smoking are analyzed using data on 18,244 male residents
of Shanghai, China. The cohort enrolled in a study between 1986 and
1989 and was followed up annually up to 1993. "By September 30,
1993, 852 deaths and 554 incident cancer cases were
identified....Compared with lifelong nonsmokers, the relative risks in
heavy smokers (20 or more cigarettes per day) after adjustment for
alcohol consumption were 2.2 for any incident cancer, 9.4 for incident
lung cancer, 6.7 for head and neck cancer, and 1.8 for liver cancer. In
terms of mortality, heavy smokers were at a 60% greater risk of death
relative to lifelong nonsmokers; there was a 2.3-fold excess risk of
death from cancer and a 2-fold to 3-fold excess risk of death from
heart disease. [The authors conclude that] cigarette smoking is an
important predictor of risk of cancer and mortality in men in Shanghai.
Among the study subjects, 36% of all cases of cancer and 21% of all
deaths could be attributed to cigarette
smoking."
Correspondence: J.-M. Yuan, University of
Southern California, USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1441
Eastlake Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90033-0800. Location:
Princeton University Library (SZ).
