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.
63:10088 Arriaga, Eduardo E.
Comments on some indexes to measure the level and change of
mortality. [Comentarios sobre algunos índices para medir el
nivel y el cambio de la mortalidad.] Estudios Demográficos y
Urbanos, Vol. 11, No. 1, Jan-Apr 1996. 5-30, 217 pp. Mexico City,
Mexico. In Spa. with sum. in Eng.
"The level and change of
mortality can be measured in several ways not only because [of] the
selected index, but also because of the way that the mortality change
is measured. This document considers the indexes more frequently used
for measuring the level of mortality, including the one of years of
life lost recently developed. Each index is analyzed in relation to its
accuracy for measuring the level and change of mortality, and
advantages and disadvantages of each of them are discussed. The index
years of life lost is presented with some details, since it was
developed rather recently."
Correspondence: E. E.
Arriaga, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Center for International Research,
4621 Wakefield Chapel Road, Annandale, VA 22003. E-mail:
Arriaga@CCMail.Census.Gov. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:10089 Bah, Sulaiman M.
Modelling the relationship between cause of death structure and
overall mortality: the case of Mauritius. Population Studies
Centre Discussion Paper, No. 96-8, ISBN 0-7714-1949-X. Jun 1996. 17 pp.
University of Western Ontario, Population Studies Centre: London,
Canada. In Eng.
"This paper aims to model the relationship
between cause of death structure and overall mortality in the Island of
Mauritius. The study period extends over an 18 year period from 1969 to
1986 and ten groups of causes of death were studied. During this
period, Mauritian mortality for both males and females, underwent a
transition from predominance of infectious diseases to that of
degenerative diseases. Three models were fitted to the male and female
data, a linear model, a curvilinear model and a multiple linear model
which incorporates the concept of Epidemiologic Transition....One
relevance of this study is in the indirect estimation of cause of death
structure. The implication is that in the indirect estimation of cause
of death structure, information on overall mortality alone will not
suffice, supplementary information of the Epidemiologic Transition is
needed especially where the mortality pattern is undergoing
transition."
Correspondence: University of Western
Ontario, Population Studies Centre, London, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10090 Bourne, D. E. Sources of
South African mortality data, 1910-1992. South African Medical
Journal/Suid-Afrikaanse Mediese Joernaal, Vol. 85, No. 10, Oct 1995.
1,020-2 pp. Pinelands, South Africa. In Eng.
"A complete
bibliography is given of official statistical publications that are the
primary source of mortality data (number of deaths, ages and causes)
for the South African population for the period 1910-1992. Details of
the edition of the International Classification of Diseases used in the
reports are noted, as well as the causes of death listed in the
reports. Details of unpublished computer tapes used to produce these
reports from 1968 onwards are also
presented."
Correspondence: D. E. Bourne, University
of Cape Town, Department of Community Health, Observatory 7925, Cape
Town, South Africa. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10091 Caselli, Graziella.
National differences in the health transition in Europe.
Historical Methods, Vol. 29, No. 3, Summer 1996. 107-25 pp. Washington,
D.C. In Eng.
"The dual task of describing the characteristic
trends of mortality in Europe and of putting forward explanatory
hypotheses is the main goal of this article....I attempt to analyze the
health transition from 1910....The different steps in mortality trends,
both in quantitative terms and with regard to structural changes by age
and cause, are also analyzed and compared when possible to the
far-reaching changes that marked the history of mortality in Europe. An
attempt at synthesis is performed, using the data on life expectancy at
birth in 1910 until recent times. Particular focus will be placed on
the more significant stages of the decline in mortality by age and
cause of death, using life tables constructed for the years prior to
World War I (1910); those for the early 1930s...; for 1950...; data for
the 1960s and 1970s...; and finally the latest available data, to gain
insight into the decline now in process."
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).
63:10092 Kale, Balkrishna; Besl, John; Palit,
Charles. A procedure to estimate mortality among
migrants. In: 1995 proceedings of the Social Statistics Section of
the Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association. [1996].
139-44 pp. American Statistical Association [ASA]: Alexandria,
Virginia. In Eng.
"Mortality data are customarily recorded and
compiled by usual place of residence of the deceased at the time of
death, and therefore provide no information on the impact made by
migrants in an area's mortality. Deaths attributable to persons who
have recently migrated from one area to another are not known. This
paper presents a procedure to estimate the number of deaths which
migrants either add to or subtract from the deaths which would be
expected in the absence of any migration. The ability to disaggregate
mortality data into migrant deaths and non-migrant deaths adds another
dimension, and enhanced precision, to the three customary components of
population change: births, deaths, and migration." Data for
Wisconsin are used for illustrative purposes.
Correspondence:
B. Kale, Demographic Services Center, P.O. Box 7868, Madison, WI
53707-7868. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10093 Montgomery, Mark R.
Learning and lags in mortality perceptions. Population Council
Research Division Working Paper, No. 91, 1996. 44 pp. Population
Council, Research Division: New York, New York. In Eng.
"This
paper addresses a new aspect of the well-known association between
mortality decline and the fertility response....[It] explores the role
of perceptions and learning, asking whether and under what conditions
individuals will perceive correctly that mortality has declined.
Drawing on an extensive literature in cognitive and social psychology,
we identify a number of factors that may cause perceptions of mortality
change to be biased. The conclusion is that if left to their own
perceptual devices, individuals are likely not to appreciate the full
extent of mortality decline."
Correspondence:
Population Council, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY
10017. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10094 Nicaragua. Ministerio de Salud
(Managua, Nicaragua). The causes of registered deaths,
1982-1991. [Causas de defunción registradas, 1982-1991.]
Jun 1994. 312, [4] pp. Managua, Nicaragua. In Spa.
The available
data on deaths registered in Nicaragua for the period 1982-1991 are
analyzed by age and cause of death. The data are presented separately
for the whole country and for each SILAIS
(district).
Correspondence: Ministerio de Salud, Managua,
Nicaragua. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10095 Pollard, J. H. On the
changing shape of the Australian mortality curve. Health
Transition Review, Vol. 6, Suppl., 1996. 283-300 pp. Canberra,
Australia. In Eng.
"Over the course of the twentieth century,
mortality rates in Australia have shown substantial improvements at all
ages. The improvements which have taken place at different ages,
however, have not occurred at a uniform pace, and as a result, the
shapes of the national mortality curves have varied over time. 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. This paper examines
the reasons for the disappearance of the male `accident hump', and 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. Extrapolating the trends observed for
the various cause-specific mortality rates obtains projected life
tables for Australian males and females in the year
2002."
Correspondence: J. H. Pollard, Macquarie
University, School of Economics and Financial Studies, Sydney, NSW
2109, Australia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10096 Preston, Samuel H.
Population studies of mortality. Population Studies, Vol. 50,
No. 3, Nov 1996. 525-36 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"In this
paper, I review briefly the progress of mortality studies during the
past half-century as reflected in the pages of Population Studies.
Since nearly half of the most important studies in this field were
published in its pages, the journal provides a very convenient vehicle
for such a review. We organize it under four headings: measurement,
levels and trends, accounting for aggregate-level variation, and
individual-level correlates."
Correspondence: S. H.
Preston, University of Pennsylvania, Population Studies Center, 3718
Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6298. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10097 Pullum, Thomas W.; Tan,
JooEan. Partitioning sources of change in the expectation
of life. Texas Population Research Center Paper, No. 96-97-01, Jan
1997. 39 pp. University of Texas, Texas Population Research Center:
Austin, Texas. In Eng.
"This paper describes a procedure to
allocate change in a population's expectation of life into components
for each of these factors and their changes over time [in the United
States]. The approach can be stated equivalently in terms of
differences between two (or more) populations at the same point in
time. The procedure will be applied to mortality data from Bexar
County, Texas, to improve the description of the effects on mortality
of age-specific differentials in death rates, causes of death, ethnic
composition, and changes over time."
This is a revised version
of a paper originally presented at the 1992 Annual Meeting of the
Population Association of America.
Correspondence:
University of Texas, Population Research Center, Main 1800,
Austin, TX 78712-1088. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10098 Ruiz Salguero, Magda T.
Mortality: vital statistics, regulation, and analysis. [La
mortalidad: estadísticas vitales, reglamentación y
análisis.] Desarrollo y Sociedad, Sep 1994. 53-71 pp.
Bogotá, Colombia. In Spa.
The author assesses the quality
and coverage of death reporting in Colombia. In spite of deficiencies
in vital statistics registration, the data indicate much about
mortality trends in the country. Two major trends are noted: an
increase in violent deaths among young adults, and a decline in
mortality due to transmittable and non-transmittable
diseases.
Correspondence: M. T. Ruiz Salguero, Universidad
Nacional de Colombia, Caudal Universitaria, Apartado Aéreo
14490, Bogotá, Colombia. Location: Princeton University
Library (PR).
63:10099 Shlomowitz, Ralph; Brennan, Lance;
McDonald, John. Mortality and migration in the modern
world. Collected Studies Series, ISBN 0-86078-596-3. LC 96-11528.
1996. x, [339] pp. Variorum: Brookfield, Vermont/Aldershot, England. In
Eng.
This is a collection of previously published essays on
"the mortality suffered by British convicts and free emigrants on
the voyage to Australia, and by Indian, Chinese, African, and Pacific
Islander indentured labourers on their voyages to a variety of
destinations across the world. The success of various administrative
measures in reducing mortality at sea during the 19th century is
documented, and shown to have a bearing on current debates on the
explanation of the 19th-century mortality decline in western
societies."
Correspondence: Variorum, Ashgate
Publishing, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hampshire GU11 3HR,
England. Location: Princeton University Library (FST).
63:10100 Surault, Pierre. The
determinants of exogenous mortality. [Les déterminants de
la mortalité exogène.] In: Démographie: analyse et
synthèse. Causes et conséquences des évolutions
démographiques, edited by Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, and
Guillaume Wunsch. Aug 1996. 267-95 pp. Centre Français sur la
Population et le Développement [CEPED]: Paris, France;
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento di
Scienze Demografiche: Rome, Italy. In Fre.
This chapter focuses on
the economic factors affecting mortality. First, the author considers
the situation in developed countries by analyzing the relation between
life expectancy and income. He then discusses the developing world and
reviews the situation for the world as a whole. The impact of differing
lifestyles on mortality is examined. Finally, the impact on mortality
of attitudes toward the body, health, and medicine is
assessed.
Correspondence: P. Surault, Université de
Poitiers, Faculté de Sciences Economiques, 15 rue de Blossac,
86034 Poitiers Cedex, France. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:10101 Tickle, Leonie. Recent
trends in mortality in the United Kingdom. Actuarial Studies and
Demography Research Paper Series 3, No. 010-96, ISBN 1-86408-255-0. Aug
1996. 28 pp. Macquarie University, School of Economic and Financial
Studies: Sydney, Australia. In Eng.
"This paper examines
trends in mortality rates in the United Kingdom over the decade 1982 to
1992. Whilst the overall rate of mortality has declined, the extent of
improvements has varied by sex, age and cause. Male mortality has
improved slightly more than female mortality....Analyses of mortality
by age indicate that the greatest improvements have occurred in the 45
and over age group and in the year after birth, with male mortality at
the young adult ages actually increasing over the period. Trends in
cause of death pattern over the period have also been studied, and the
impact of these changes on the shape of the mortality curve
described."
Correspondence: Macquarie University,
School of Economic and Financial Studies, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Author's E-mail: ltickle@efs.mq.edu.au. 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.
63:10102 Carlson, Elwood;
Rychtáríkova, Jitka; Hoem, Jan M.
Trajectories of fetal loss. Stockholm Research Reports in
Demography, No. 114, ISBN 91-7820-148-9. Oct 1996. 16 pp. Stockholm
University, Demography Unit: Stockholm, Sweden. In Eng.
"Analysis of nearly 600,000 pregnancies from the Czech
Republic (1987 through 1990) reveals that social differences in fetal
survival chances are greater at early observed stages of pregnancy than
at or near full term. Differences in loss by marital status,
educational level and economic activity essentially mirror differences
in risk known to appear in the post-neonatal period of infancy....Those
conditions that produce higher risk of fetal death for disadvantaged
women in the second trimester of pregnancy also produce higher risk of
premature live birth once the threshold of viability is reached in the
third trimester, producing convergence in risk of fetal death for
different social groups at full term."
Correspondence:
Stockholm University, Demography Unit, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10103 Gourbin, Catherine.
Fetal mortality. [La mortalité foetale.] In:
Démographie: analyse et synthèse. Causes et
conséquences des évolutions démographiques, edited
by Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, and Guillaume Wunsch. Aug 1996.
155-91 pp. Centre Français sur la Population et le
Développement [CEPED]: Paris, France; Università degli
Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento di Scienze Demografiche: Rome,
Italy. In Fre.
This chapter examines the concept of fetal
mortality. The author begins by discussing the problems involved in
collecting data on fetal deaths. Next, the biological and behavioral
factors affecting fetal mortality are examined. Prospects for medical
intervention to reduce levels of fetal mortality are discussed, and the
role of induced abortion is addressed.
Correspondence: C.
Gourbin, Université Catholique de Louvain, Institut de
Démographie, 1 place Montesquieu, B.P. 17, 1348
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. 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.
63:10104 Adetunji, Jacob A.
Infant mortality levels in Africa: does method of estimation
matter? Genus, Vol. 52, No. 3-4, Jul-Dec 1996. 89-106 pp. Rome,
Italy. In Eng. with sum. in Ita; Fre.
"Using data from 13
Demographic and Health Surveys in Africa, this paper compares estimates
of infant mortality directly calculated from data with those indirectly
calculated using the Trussell (1975) and Feeney (1980) techniques. The
results indicate that, on average, the directly calculated infant
mortality rates were significantly lower than those estimated from
indirect methods. Data errors alone can not plausibly explain such
differences. Such series could in fact show increases or decreases in
infant mortality rates that would result mainly from differences in
methods of calculation."
Correspondence: J. A.
Adetunji, Macro International, Demographic and Health Surveys, 11785
Beltsville Drive, Suite 300, Calverton, MD 20705. E-mail:
Adetunji@macroint.com. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10105 Azuh, Dominic E. Child
survival under threat: a cross-sectional study in India. ISBN
81-7018-821-0. LC 94-907320. 1994. xxx, 165 pp. B. R. Publishing:
Delhi, India. In Eng.
This is an analysis of the mortality of
children aged one to four in India. It is based on a survey of 2,000
families carried out in two districts of Andhra Pradesh in 1989-1990.
Factors considered include ecological conditions, cultural background,
socioeconomic factors, nutrition, and health service provision.
Particular attention is given to differentials in child mortality and
survival. The data are analyzed separately for caste Hindus, Harijans,
and other religions.
Correspondence: B. R. Publishing, A-6
Nimri Community Centre, Near Ashok Vihar, Phase IV, Delhi 110 052,
India. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10106 Brockerhoff, Martin; Derose, Laurie
F. Child survival in East Africa: the impact of preventive
health care. World Development, Vol. 24, No. 12, Dec 1996.
1,841-57 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Since the mid-1980s or
earlier, several East African countries have experienced constant or
rising child mortality rates concurrent with social and biomedical
improvements of the `Child Survival Revolution'. This study examines
whether preventive primary health care enhanced early child survival in
the late 1980s and early 1990s in five East African countries. Child
mortality rates were considerably lower than they would have been in
the absence of specific immunizations, access to safe drinking water,
fertility regulation, and frequent antenatal care visits. There was,
however, substantial missed opportunity for mortality decline as a
result of insufficient use of preventive measures. In particular,
universal immunization across these countries could have reduced rates
of mortality under age two by as much as
one-third."
Correspondence: M. Brockerhoff, Population
Council, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY 10017. Location:
Princeton University Library (PF).
63:10107 Cornell, Laurel L.
Infanticide in early modern Japan? Demography, culture, and
population growth. PIRT Working Paper, No. 95-1, Dec 1994. 33, [7]
pp. Indiana University, Population Institute for Research and Training
[PIRT]: Bloomington, Indiana. In Eng.
Early modern Japan
experienced a stagnation in population growth. "Scholars have
offered two explanations for this phenomenon....In both of these
approaches the source of population stagnation is the same: deliberate
control of fertility by individuals through infanticide. If this was
true it has two implications: that the Japanese were the first large
population to practice modern family planning, two centuries earlier
and in a far different economic and political context than their
western European counterparts...and that death rates of infants,
children, and young adults were so low that unless many were eliminated
a large surplus would survive to adulthood....The purpose of this paper
is to examine [these hypotheses]."
Correspondence:
Indiana University, Population Institute for Research and
Training, Memorial Hall East 220, Bloomington, IN 47405. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10108 Desgrées du Loû,
Annabel; Pison, Gilles; Samb, Badara; Trape,
Jean-François. Cause-specific mortality of African
children: a case study in Senegal based on the verbal autopsy
approach. [L'évolution des causes de décès
d'enfants en Afrique: une étude de cas au Sénégal
avec la méthode d'autopsie verbale.] Population, Vol. 51, No.
4-5, Jul-Oct 1996. 845-81 pp. Paris, France. In Fre. with sum. in Eng;
Spa.
"A method called `verbal autopsy' which makes it possible
for medically unqualified persons to collect information on cause of
death has been used in several less developed countries. After each
death, a standardized questionnaire is administered to the families
involved which contains questions on the symptoms and history of the
illness which resulted in the death. This method was applied to all
deaths of children less than five years old which occurred in the
Bandafassi area of Eastern Senegal between 1984 and 1993....The method
helps to determine the principal developments in mortality linked to
demographic or climatic factors (sex, season of death). As these
surveys were taken each year, the results provide an insight into
changes over time of the most significant factors and make it possible
to assess the success of existing health programmes and suggest
directions for future surveys."
Correspondence: A.
Desgrées du Loû, Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique, UMR 152, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Biologique,
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10109 Frisbie, W. Parker; Forbes, Douglas;
Pullum, Starling G. Compromised birth outcomes and infant
mortality among racial and ethnic groups. Demography, Vol. 33, No.
4, Nov 1996. 469-81 pp. Silver Spring, Maryland. In Eng.
"Research based on [U.S.] hospital records demonstrates that
many births classified as normal according to conventional demographic
measurement are intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) when evaluated
clinically; also, in addition to birth weight and gestational age, it
is necessary to focus on a third dimension, maturity, in analyses of
birth outcomes. Although clinical studies allow more precise
classification, the small number of cases tends to result in unreliable
estimates of rates and in loss of generalizability. The fetal growth
ratio, a measure recently shown to be a valid proxy for maturity, is
used here to develop a classification system based on combinations of
weight, gestational age, and maturity, which we apply in a comparative
analysis of a large data set. The results show large differences in the
distribution of compromised births across racial and ethnic groups, as
well as significant race/ethnic differentials in the risk of infant
mortality associated with adverse
outcomes."
Correspondence: W. P. Frisbie, University
of Texas, Population Research Center, Austin, TX 78712. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10110 Hansen, Hans O. Social
and biological issues in infant survivorship among Danish cohorts born
between 1982 and 1990. Yearbook of Population Research in Finland,
Vol. 33, 1996. 82-100 pp. Helsinki, Finland. In Eng.
"The
purpose of this project is to identify possible differentials in the
infant survivorship of the Danish cohorts born between 1982 and 1990.
The principal characteristics to be considered are gender and birth
weight. Our data consist of official records of live births and infant
deaths linked at the individual level. We report some rather detailed
measurements of the survivorship impact of sex and birth weight in the
framework of logistic regression and loglinear modeling. This paper
gives strong support to sex and birth weight as major determinants of
infant survivorship. Falling infant mortality is closely associated
with increasing expected birth weight over the birth cohorts
considered. The present paper should be seen as an appetizer for
addressing the more general question of birth weight as an intermediate
variable for survivorship impacts of biosocial factors related to the
parents and to intrauterine gestation."
Correspondence:
H. O. Hansen, University of Copenhagen, Institute of Statistics,
Studiestræde 6, 1455 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10111 Hussein, Mounira A.
Analysis and forecasting infant mortality rate (IMR) in Egypt until
year 2000. Egyptian Population and Family Planning Review, Vol.
25, No. 2, Dec 1991. 32-46 pp. Giza, Egypt. In Eng.
"Infant
Mortality Rate (IMR) is one of the most sensitive indicators [of] the
level of socioeconomic development in the human society. Here, a class
of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models is used to
analyze a time series of infant mortality rate. ARIMA (1,1,0) model is
suggested and is proven to be more adequate especially with the natural
logarithmic transformation of the original time series. Predicted
values for infant mortality rate in Egypt for the time period 1983-2000
are derived."
Correspondence: M. A. Hussein, Menoufia
University, Shebeen El-Kome, Egypt. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10112 Ibrahim, M. M.; Omar, H. M.; Persson,
L. Å; Wall, S. Child mortality in a collapsing
African society. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization/Bulletin de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé,
Vol. 74, No. 5, 1996. 547-52 pp. Geneva, Switzerland. In Eng.
"A cohort study of mortality among under-5-year-olds was
carried out in two Somali villages in 1987-89, a period of economic and
political collapse in the rural parts of the country. Analysed was the
relative importance of the social characteristics for under-5-year-old
mortality against a background of deteriorating political and economic
conditions. Mortality increased among under-5-year-olds from 1987 (211
per 1,000) to 1988 (323 per 1,000) to 1989 (414 per 1,000). The
mortality risk was more pronounced for boys than girls and was more so
for infants than children aged 1-4 years. The major signs prior to
death were respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, fever/malaria
and tetanus in the neonatal period."
Correspondence:
M. M. Ibrahim, Umeå University, Department of Epidemiology
and Public Health, 901 85 Umeå, Sweden. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10113 Jhamba, Tapiwa.
Childhood mortality differentials in Zimbabwe: evidence from two
surveys. Genus, Vol. 52, No. 3-4, Jul-Dec 1996. 155-72 pp. Rome,
Italy. In Eng. with sum. in Ita; Fre.
"This paper examines the
factors associated with infant mortality differentials in Zimbabwe,
using data from two surveys, the 1984 ZRHS and 1988 ZDHS. An index of
infant mortality based on the ratio of observed to expected deaths was
used [in] the multivariate analysis as a measure of infant mortality
for each woman. Infant mortality was highest among women who were
illiterate, lived on commercial farms, first married before the age of
15, never used modern contraceptives or were given no prenatal care.
Moreover, several significant differences among regions are
highlighted."
Correspondence: T. Jhamba, University of
Zimbabwe, Sociology Department, Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare,
Zimbabwe. E-mail: tjhamba@sociol.uz.zw. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10114 Li, Shuzhuo; Feldman, M. W.
Sex differential of infant mortality in China: level and
trend. Chinese Journal of Population Science, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1996.
249-67 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"Based on an evaluation
of China's infant mortality, the article reviews the historical,
regional, and ethnic changes in sex-specific infant mortality as well
as the relationship between sex-specific infant mortality and some
social, economic, demographic, and cultural factors. It also offers a
discussion on the possible demographic and socioeconomic consequences
of the excess female infant mortality in China, and the policy
implications of such consequences."
Correspondence: S.
Li, Xi'an University of Transportation, Demographic and Economics
Research Institute, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10115 Masuy-Stroobant, Godelieve.
Theories and explanations for infant mortality.
[Théories et schémas explicatifs de la mortalité
des enfants.] In: Démographie: analyse et synthèse.
Causes et conséquences des évolutions
démographiques, edited by Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, and
Guillaume Wunsch. Aug 1996. 193-221 pp. Centre Français sur la
Population et le Développement [CEPED]: Paris, France;
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento di
Scienze Demografiche: Rome, Italy. In Fre.
The author discusses
theoretical aspects of the factors affecting infant mortality (deaths
from birth to the first birthday) and child mortality (deaths from age
one to age four inclusive). The emphasis is on infant mortality in the
developed countries and on infant and child mortality combined in
developing countries. The problems of developing general theories of
infant and child mortality in the context of cultural, socioeconomic,
political, and temporal differences are noted.
Correspondence:
G. Masuy-Stroobant, Université Catholique de Louvain,
Institut de Démographie, 1 place Montesquieu, B.P. 17, 1348
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:10116 McMurray, Christine.
Measuring excess risk of child mortality: an exploration of DHS I
data for Burundi, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Working Papers in
Demography, No. 65, 1996. 24 pp. Australian National University,
Research School of Social Sciences, Department of Demography: Canberra,
Australia. In Eng.
"This paper proposes a new method of
measuring excess risk of child mortality in cross-sectional surveys,
which is applied to DHS I data for Burundi, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The
expected child mortality experience is estimated for each mother on the
basis of child's age, mother's age at child's birth and her parity, and
compared with her observed experience. Mothers [who] exceed their
expected child mortality experience and who also had more than one
child die are considered to have excess child mortality. The analysis
shows that Zimbabwe had the greatest concentration of child deaths as
measured by a simple ratio of mothers to deaths, but when observed
experience was compared with expected it had less than half as many
excess deaths as Uganda and Burundi. In all three countries mother's
education had a strong negative association with the risk of excess
child mortality, and in Zimbabwe and Burundi there were significant
regional differences."
Correspondence: Australian
National University, Research School of Social Sciences, Department of
Demography, G.P.O. 4, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10117 McQuillan, Kevin.
Religious differences in rates of infant and child mortality:
evidence from Alsace, 1750-1870. Population Studies Centre
Discussion Paper, No. 96-4, ISBN 0-7714-1901-5. May 1996. 17, [6] pp.
University of Western Ontario, Population Studies Centre: London,
Canada. In Eng.
"A number of studies, both historical and
contemporary, have identified significant differences in levels and
trends of mortality among cultural groups sharing similar physical and
social environments....These findings have provoked considerable
speculation about the ways in which cultural practices may influence
both susceptibility to disease and treatment of illness....The present
paper contributes to this discussion by examining the infant and child
mortality patterns of two religious groups, Lutherans and Catholics,
that lived side-by-side in the French region of Alsace. The similarity
in their physical environment, as well as in the broader social and
economic setting in which they lived, makes these groups good
candidates for an assessment of the effect of religion on
mortality."
This paper was presented at the 1996 Annual Meeting
of the Population Association of America.
Correspondence:
University of Western Ontario, Population Studies Centre, London,
Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:10118 Nair, N. Sreekumaran; Kutty, P.
Raman; Acharya, Das; Chandrasekhar, Shalini; Rao, R. S.
Phaneendra. Female literacy as a determinant of
socio-demographic status and infant survival. Health and
Population: Perspectives and Issues, Vol. 18, No. 4, Oct-Dec 1995.
190-202 pp. New Delhi, India. In Eng. with sum. in Hin.
"This
article deals with socio-demographic factors like teenage marriage,
teenage pregnancy, family size, literacy status of husband and
socio-economic status of the family of...illiterate mothers among caste
Hindus, scheduled castes/tribes and Muslims [in Karnataka State,
India]. A highly significant association between female literacy and
infant survival among caste Hindus and scheduled castes/tribes has been
established in this study. Though a reduction in mortality among the
infants of literate Muslim mothers was observed, the difference was not
as high as [for] mothers of [the] other two groups under
study."
Correspondence: N. S. Nair, Kasturba Medical
College, Department of Community Medicine, Manipal, India.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10119 Noumbissi, Amadou.
Methodologies for the analysis of infant mortality: applications to
Cameroon. [Méthodologies d'analyse de la mortalité
des enfants: applications au Cameroun.] Institut de Démographie
Monographie, No. 11, ISBN 2-87209-389-3. [1996]. vi, 305 pp.
Academia-Bruylant: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; L'Harmattan: Paris,
France. In Fre.
This study is concerned with some of the problems
that exist with regard to the analysis of mortality in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The author uses practical examples to illustrate some of the
distortions associated with the use of traditional methods for the
analysis of mortality involving the use of statistical models. Some
alternative indicators of mortality are proposed which are less
dependent on the quality of the data used, and which are more suited to
the actual conditions faced by mothers and their children in Africa.
The primary focus is on infant and child mortality. The concepts
discussed are illustrated using data for Cameroon for the period
1978-1991.
Correspondence: Bruylant-Academia, Grand Rue 25,
Boîte 115, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10120 Obungu, Walter; Kizito, Paul M.;
Bicego, George. Trends, age patterns, and determinants of
early childhood mortality in Kenya. DHS Further Analysis Studies,
No. 12, May 1994. 31 pp. National Council for Population and
Development: Nairobi, Kenya; Macro International, Demographic and
Health Surveys [DHS]: Calverton, Maryland. In Eng.
Data from the
1977-1978 Kenya Fertility Survey (KFS) and the 1989 Kenya Demographic
and Health Survey (KDHS) are used to analyze trends in the level and
age pattern of childhood mortality in Kenya. "The quality of the
KDHS mortality data is assessed using tests of internal and external
consistency, and a re-evaluation of current levels of age-specific
mortality is undertaken. The second part of the paper delves into the
question of the socioeconomic determinants of age-specific mortality
risk among Kenyan children. In this paper the focus is on the role of
better maternal education and the intermediate factors that affect the
education advantage in child survival. In particular, interest is
centered on whether health services use and the pattern of family
formation serve to mediate the maternal education
effect."
Correspondence: Macro International,
Demographic and Health Surveys, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Calverton, MD
20705-3119. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10121 Pattnayak, Satya R.; Shai,
Donna. Mortality rates as indicators of cross-cultural
development: regional variations in the Third World. Journal of
Developing Societies, Vol. 11, No. 2, Dec 1995. 252-62 pp. Leiden,
Netherlands. In Eng.
"While infant mortality and the under 5
mortality rates are widely used as measures of development, the death
rate among 1-4 year olds may be a more effective measure of
socioenvironmental conditions affecting mortality, since this age group
is less influenced by genetic and biological factors than infants. This
article looks at the relationship between infant, under 5, and 1-4
mortality rates and level of development, immunization, information,
access to drinking water and health services, and literacy rates among
mothers for 78 less developed countries. The evidence suggests that
socioenvironmental variables have greater degrees of correlation with
age group 1-4 mortality than infant or under 5 mortality, pointing to
the importance of this measure in cross-cultural
research."
Correspondence: S. R. Pattnayak, Villanova
University, Department of Sociology, Villanova, PA 19085. Location:
Princeton University Library (FST).
63:10122 Perz, Stephen G. The
environment as a determinant of child mortality among migrants in
frontier areas of Pará and Rondônia, Brazil, 1980.
Population and Environment, Vol. 18, No. 3, Jan 1997. 301-24 pp. New
York, New York. In Eng.
"This article examines child mortality
as an indicator of the quality of life among migrants living in
Brazilian Amazonia in 1980. I focus on migrants in the frontier states
of Pará and Rondônia, which experienced rapid settlement
during the 1970s. The key question here is the effect of settlement
location on child mortality rates....I...attribute locational
differences in child mortality to environmental factors important to
malaria transmission rather than to health care infrastructure. The
findings from multivariate regression analysis show that net of the
effects of human capital, migration history and migrant living
standards, settling in Pará rather than Rondônia resulted
in significantly lower rates of child mortality. These findings suggest
that environmental factors coinciding with location of frontier
settlement had important consequences for the living standards of
migrants in the Brazilian Amazon."
Correspondence: S.
G. Perz, University of Texas, Department of Sociology, Population
Research Center, 1800 Main Building, Austin, TX 78712. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10123 Petrioli, Luciano. The
demographic conditions affecting early childhood in developing
countries. [La condizione demografica dell'infanzia nei paesi
sottosviluppati.] Studi e Documenti sulle Populazioni dei Paesi
Sottosviluppati, No. 2, Jan 1995. 35 pp. Università di Siena,
Centro Ricerche Interdipartimentali sulla Popolazione dei Paesi
Sottosviluppati: Siena, Italy. In Ita.
This paper considers the
demographic aspects and mortality of children under age five, and the
effects on the total population in developing countries. The analysis
concentrates on Sub-Saharan Africa, which, considering the demographic
variables such as birth rates, life expectancy, total fertility rate,
and GNP per capita, is clearly the poorest region of the world with the
greatest levels of both infant and general mortality. The health and
sanitary conditions of this region are also examined, as well as the
diseases which present the greatest threat to survival in early
childhood.
Correspondence: Università di Siena,
Centro Ricerche Interdipartimentali sulla Populazione dei Paesi
Sottosviluppati, Piazza S. Francesco 17, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10124 Pitt, Mark M. Estimating
the determinants of child health when fertility and mortality are
selective. Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 32, No. 1, Winter
1997. 129-58 pp. Madison, Wisconsin. In Eng.
"This paper
estimates the determinants of child mortality and child health allowing
for the possibility that samples of children are choice-based,
reflecting prior selective fertility and mortality behavior. Parameter
identification is the most serious practical problem in controlling for
fertility and mortality selection. Identification is achieved by
imposing a random-effects structure on the error correlation matrix for
the set of fertility, mortality, and health behaviors. Fertility
selection is found to be statistically significant in the estimation of
the determinants of mortality in all 14 Sub-Saharan DHS data sets
studied, and fertility and mortality selection is found to be
significant in the determination of child height in Zambia.
Nevertheless, most parameters are little changed when selection is
accounted for."
Correspondence: M. M. Pitt, Brown
University, Department of Economics, Providence, RI 02912.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPIA).
63:10125 Sastry, Narayan. What
explains rural-urban differentials in child mortality in Brazil?
Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 44, No. 7, Apr 1997. 989-1,002 pp.
Oxford, England. In Eng.
"This paper presents an analysis of
differentials in child survival by rural-urban place of residence in
Brazil and examines the hypothesis that observed mortality
differentials by place of residence are merely manifestations of
underlying differences in socioeconomic status and demographic and
reproductive behavior. The child mortality data come from the 1986
Demographic and Health Survey of Brazil and supplementary
community-level variables are obtained from a database assembled by the
Brazilian federal statistical agency. Child mortality rates are
substantially and significantly lower in urban areas of Brazil. Our
results suggest, however, that the urban advantage does not simply
reflect underlying differences in socioeconomic and behavioral
characteristics at the individual and household levels; rather,
community variables appear to play an independent and important role.
We also find that the effects of community characteristics on child
survival are moderated by household socioeconomic factors, especially
maternal education."
Correspondence: N. Sastry, RAND,
1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138.
Location: Princeton University Library (PR).
63:10126 Sundin, Jan. Child
mortality and causes of death in a Swedish city, 1750-1860.
Historical Methods, Vol. 29, No. 3, Summer 1996. 93-106 pp. Washington,
D.C. In Eng.
"Available statistical categories can provide a
lot of insight into contemporary concepts of death, disease, and
illness, but my purpose in this article is rather to discuss, in the
form of a case study, an empirical historical problem occupying many
scholars: What happened during the initial phase of the epidemiologic
transition in the Western world?...This investigation illustrates and
tests the possibilities of using Swedish data on causes of death among
infants and young children before and during the first phase of the
epidemiological transition, that is, from 1750 to
1850."
Correspondence: J. Sundin, University of
Linköping, Department of Health and Society, 58183 Linköping,
Sweden. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10127 United States. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC] (Atlanta, Georgia). Rates of
homicide, suicide, and firearm-related death among children--26
industrialized countries. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,
Vol. 46, No. 5, Feb 7, 1997. 101-5 pp. Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
"To compare patterns and the impact of violent deaths among
children in the United States and other industrialized countries, CDC
analyzed data on childhood homicide, suicide, and firearm-related death
in the United States and 25 other industrialized countries for the most
recent year for which data were available in each country. This report
presents the findings of this analysis, which indicate that the United
States has the highest rates of childhood homicide, suicide, and
firearm-related death among industrialized
countries."
Correspondence: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
Studies of age-specific mortality and of mortality in special groups defined by age.
63:10128 Bennett, Neil G.; Olshansky, S.
Jay. Forecasting U.S. age structure and the future of
Social Security: the impact of adjustments to official mortality
schedules. Population and Development Review, Vol. 22, No. 4, Dec
1996. 703-27, 814, 816-7 pp. New York, New York. In Eng. with sum. in
Fre; Spa.
"In this article we review the scientific literature
regarding the reliability of old-age mortality rates in the United
States, and we address three questions related to the consequences of
adopting adjustments to old-age mortality: (1) How are current and
projected levels of life expectancy in the United States influenced by
adjusting old-age mortality rates? (2) What is the impact of adjusted
old-age mortality rates on the projected size of the older population?
and (3) How would the funding of selected age-entitlement programs in
the United States be affected by these adjustments?...Forecasts made
using adjusted mortality schedules lead to estimates of life expectancy
at birth and at older ages that, over the next 60 years, are lower than
those published by the Census Bureau and the Social Security
Administration."
Correspondence: N. G. Bennett,
Columbia University, National Center for Children in Poverty,
Morningside Heights, New York, NY 10027. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10129 Menotti, Alessandro; Kromhout, Daan;
Nissinen, Aulikki; Giampaoli, Simona; Seccareccia, Fulvia; Feskens,
Edith; Pekkanen, Juha; Tervahauta, Markku. Short-term
all-cause mortality and its determinants in elderly male populations in
Finland, the Netherlands, and Italy: the FINE study. Preventive
Medicine, Vol. 25, No. 3, 1996. 319-26 pp. San Diego, California. In
Eng.
"This study aims at identifying determinants of all-cause
mortality in elderly populations of [Finland, the Netherlands, and
Italy]....Five-year death rates from all causes were higher in Finland
(297 per 1,000), intermediate in the Netherlands (231 per 1,000), and
lower in Italy (191 per 1,000). Five-year all-cause mortality was
studied in relation to measurements taken at entry (age, systolic and
diastolic blood pressure, non-high-density lipoprotein...and HDL
cholesterol, body mass index, heart rate, smoking habits, and presence
of coronary heart disease manifestations)....In these elderly men the
association of traditional risk factors with all-cause mortality is
reduced, U-shaped, or even inverted. This is probably due to selection
due to previous mortality, to co-morbidity, and to changes in
homeostatic mechanisms."
Correspondence: D. Kromhout,
RIVM-National Institute of Public Health and Environment, Public Health
Research Division, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, Netherlands. E-mail:
kromho_d@rivm.nl. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10130 Prieto, M. Dolores; Llorca, Javier;
Delgado-Rodriguez, Miguel. Longitudinal Gompertzian and
Weibull analyses of adult mortality in Spain (Europe), 1900-1992.
Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, Vol. 90, No. 1, 1996. 35-51 pp.
Limerick, Ireland. In Eng.
"Mortality data from Spain, 1900 to
1992, were analyzed using Gompertzian and Weibull functions.
Longitudinal Gompertzian analysis demonstrated that annual age-specific
mortality rate distributions were determined by a fixed intersection
point (in men: 84.3 years, in women: 89.3 years). Two methods of
longitudinal Gompertzian analysis were applied. The method based on
linear regression indicated that environmental influences upon
age-related mortality were constant. The method based on a rough
estimate of first derivative suggested that environmental influences
have been decreasing. Both of these methods suggested that genetic
influence upon age-related mortality is greater for men than for women.
Analysis of Spanish mortality data from 1900 to 1992 suggests that the
Gompertz function fits age-specific mortality rate distributions in
adult men and women better than the Weibull
function."
Correspondence: M. Delgado-Rodriguez,
University of Cantabria, School of Medicine, Division of Preventive
Medicine and Public Health, Avenida Cardenal Herrera Oria s/n, 39011
Santander, Spain. E-mail: delgadom@medi.unican.es. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10131 Saha, Anuj K. Use of
widowhood data for estimating adult mortality for West Bengal,
1981. Demography India, Vol. 25, No. 1, Jan-Jun 1996. 71-81 pp.
Delhi, India. In Eng.
"The straightforward way of calculating
the mortality rates is by using the information on deaths by age
produced by a vital registration system. However, India like many other
developing countries possesses such a registration system [but] it is
often the case that not all the deaths are registered. As a result, the
death rate implied by the reported deaths is usually an underestimate
of the true death rate prevalent in the population in question, and
some method of adjustment is required to transform the reported death
rate into a better estimate of mortality conditions....An attempt
has...been made to estimate the mortality conditions in the adult ages
both for males and females on widowhood data by indirect methods
adopted in the present study for West Bengal,
1981."
Correspondence: A. K. Saha, Indian Statistical
Institute, Population Studies Unit, 203 Barrackpore Trunk Road,
Calcutta 700 035, India. 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.
63:10132 Ishikawa, Akira. Life
tables by marital status: 1990. Jinko Mondai Kenkyu/Journal of
Population Problems, Vol. 51, No. 4, Jan 1996. 32-46 pp. Tokyo, Japan.
In Jpn.
Life tables are presented for Japan by sex and marital
status using data from the 1990 census.
Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10133 Rowland, Donald T.
Cohort survival in ageing populations: a model life table
approach. Genus, Vol. 52, No. 1-2, Jan-Jun 1996. 71-82 pp. Rome,
Italy. In Eng. with sum. in Ita; Fre.
"In populations where
higher proportions are surviving longer, cohort life tables are a
valuable means of measuring changes and anticipating future
developments. Yet cohort life tables are calculated only infrequently
from national mortality statistics because of difficulties in adjusting
observed data and projecting cohort survival. To facilitate regular
updating, an approach to cohort life table construction is needed that
circumvents the problems of data adjustment and projection. This paper
proposes a method based on model life tables which provides information
consistent with official life tables and projections of life
expectancy. The paper also compares the results with those obtained by
other methods and discusses some implications of trends in cohort
survival."
Correspondence: D. T. Rowland, Australian
National University, Department of Sociology, Population Studies
Program, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10134 Valkovics, Emil. Some
considerations on single-decrement and multiple-decrement life tables
by causes of death. [Néhány gondolat a
halálokok szerinti és az egyes halálokok
feltételezett kiküszöbölésén
alapuló halandósági
táblákról.] Demográfia, Vol. 38, No. 1,
1995. 57-69 pp. Budapest, Hungary. In Hun.
Various aspects of
single- and multiple-decrement life tables are illustrated using 1990
data for Hungary on causes of death.
Correspondence: E.
Valkovics, Kiscelli u. 18 1.2, 1032 Budapest, Hungary. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10135 Ventisette, Moreno.
Estimation of mortality by use of data on deaths alone. [La
stima della mortalità con l'uso dei soli decessi.] Bollettino di
Demografia Storica, No. 21, 1994. 127-51 pp. Bologna, Italy. In Ita.
The author discusses the problems of calculating life tables from
mortality data alone. He reviews the assumptions underlying this
method, particularly the assumption of a stable population, and shows
how distortions are introduced if these assumptions are not met. He
argues that in order to create accurate life tables, it is necessary to
have some other data, such as births, in addition to deaths by age. He
then works through some examples using Italian data, creating life
tables for the first and last years of life, and then for the middle
years.
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.
63:10136 Aden, A. S.; Omar, M. M.; Omar, H.
M.; Högberg, U.; Persson, L. Å; Wall, S. Excess
female mortality in rural Somalia--is inequality in the household a
risk factor? Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 44, No. 5, Jan 21,
1997. 709-15 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Gender differences
in mortality risks in rural Somali communities were studied to assess
their relation to literacy, marital status and family economy between
January 1987 and December 1989. In all, 6,947 person-years form the
basis for the demographic analysis and estimations of mortality rates
and survival. Both sexes showed similar mortality risks in infancy and
early childhood, but females demonstrated a greater risk of dying
during their reproductive life than males....Illiteracy in women
considerably increased the risk of dying from 15 years and onwards
particularly when living with literate men....This vulnerability of
females was associated to the recession of the economy in the pre-war
situation in Somalia, a backlash hitting women trying to earn their
living. To conclude, gender differences in a number of factors in the
household--literacy, marital status and especially source of
income--were disadvantageous for the women, increasing the mortality
risk in this setting."
Correspondence: A. S. Aden,
Somalia National University, Department of Community Health, Medical
Faculty, Mogadishu, Somalia. Location: Princeton University
Library (PR).
63:10137 Borgan, Jens-Kristian.
Socioeconomic trends in differential mortality among middle-aged
males in Norway 1960-1990. Yearbook of Population Research in
Finland, Vol. 33, 1996. 73-81 pp. Helsinki, Finland. In Eng.
"This study is based on data from three censuses [in Norway]
(1960, 1979, and 1980) linked to the cause of death statistics kept
during a 10-year follow-up period subsequent to each census. Linkages
have been made for each individual male aged 30-64 years at the time of
the census....The study showed a decrease in mortality for all
socioeconomic status categories. However, the decrease was far more
pronounced among mean-level and higher-level salaried employees than
among unskilled workers, farmers and fishermen. An even larger
socioeconomic gap appeared between the rates of mortality due to
cardiovascular disease. There are indications that the gaps may be
health-related, since workers' mortality rate increased from the first
to the second five-year period following a census, while the same
pattern was not found for salaried
employees."
Correspondence: J.-K. Borgan, Statistisk
Sentralbyrå, P.B. 8131 Dep., 0033 Oslo 1, Norway. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10138 Bourbeau, Robert; Emond,
Valérie. Socio-demographic characteristics and
mortality of Members of Parliament in Quebec in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries: a cohort analysis. [Caractéristiques
socio-démographiques et mortalité des
députés québécois aux XIXe et XXe
siècles: une analyse par génération.] Population,
Vol. 51, No. 4-5, Jul-Oct 1996. 929-53 pp. Paris, France. In Fre. with
sum. in Eng; Spa.
"Members of Parliament in Quebec are a
select group of the population, and it would be expected that their
mortality will be lower than that of the population as a whole. We
tested this hypothesis by analyzing 1,455 individuals born after 1800
who were elected to the legislature in Lower Canada, United Canada, and
Quebec between the beginning of the nineteenth century and 1992. MPs in
Quebec differ from the general contemporary population: they are
better-educated and the proportion working in the liberal profession is
high. But there is no statistically significant difference in the
proportions surviving to different ages. Indeed, the mortality of older
Members of Parliament is higher than that of the older age groups in
the general population. It is possible that their life styles more than
compensate for the effects of selection."
Correspondence:
R. Bourbeau, Université de Montréal,
Département de Démographie, C.P. 6128, Succursale A,
Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10139 Bygren, Lars O.; Konlaan, Boinkum B.;
Johansson, Sven-Erik. Attendance at cultural events,
reading books or periodicals, and making music or singing in a choir as
determinants for survival: Swedish interview survey of living
conditions. British Medical Journal, Vol. 313, No. 7072, Dec 21,
1996. 1,577-80 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The possible influence
of various cultural factors on mortality in Sweden is analyzed using
data on 12,675 individuals originally interviewed in 1982 and 1983 who
were followed up until the end of 1991. After controlling for possible
confounding factors, such as age, sex, educational status, income,
long-term disease, social networks, smoking, and physical exercise, the
authors conclude that attendance at cultural events might have a
positive effect on survival.
Correspondence: L. O. Bygren,
Umeå University, Department of Social Medicine, 901 85
Umeå, Sweden. Location: Princeton University Library
(SZ).
63:10140 Duchêne, Josianne.
Methods for analyzing differential mortality at adult ages.
[Méthodes d'analyse de la mortalité différentielle
aux âges adultes.] In: Démographie: analyse et
synthèse. Causes et conséquences des évolutions
démographiques, edited by Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, and
Guillaume Wunsch. Aug 1996. 255-66 pp. Centre Français sur la
Population et le Développement [CEPED]: Paris, France;
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento di
Scienze Demografiche: Rome, Italy. In Fre.
The author describes
some of the problems encountered in analyzing adult mortality
differentials in developed countries. She notes that the available data
differ from one country to the next and that the various methods used
to analyze them vary widely, producing results that cannot be compared.
She concludes that this hinders the development of general theories and
precludes one country learning from the experience of
another.
Correspondence: J. Duchêne,
Université Catholique de Louvain, Institut de
Démographie, 1 place Montesquieu, B.P. 17, 1348
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:10141 Folsom, A. R.; French, S. A.; Zheng,
W.; Baxter, J. E.; Jeffery, R. W. Weight variability and
mortality: the Iowa Women's Health Study. International Journal of
Obesity, Vol. 20, No. 8, 1996. 704-9 pp. Basingstoke, England. In Eng.
The authors "evaluate the association between weight
variability and risk of mortality in women [using data from a ]
prospective cohort study, 1986-1991 [that covered] a population-based
sample of 33,760 Iowa women aged 55-69....Women who displayed greater
weight variability in adulthood had an increased risk of dying in later
life, especially from coronary heart disease. However, to a
considerable degree this association seems to be due to other unhealthy
characteristics and pre-existing disease among those displaying
increased weight variability."
Correspondence: A. R.
Folsom, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of
Epidemiology, 1300 South Second Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN
55454-1015. E-mail: Folsom@epivax.epi.umn.edu. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10142 Friedlander, Nancylee J.
The relation of lifetime reproduction to survivorship in women and
men: a prospective study. American Journal of Human Biology, Vol.
8, No. 6, 1996. 771-83 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"The
relation of lifetime reproduction to survivorship was investigated
among 1,533 women and 1,230 men from Southern California who were born
between 1880 and 1929....Follow-up for vital status was 100%...from
baseline (1972-1974) through mid-1990. Cox proportional hazards
analyses were adjusted for age, body mass index, estrogen use in women,
and socioeconomic status....Parous women had significantly poorer
survivorship than nulliparous women [among] the total group...and among
women born 1880-1904...but not among women born 1905-1929....Analyses
using number of biological children showed significantly poorer
maternal survivorship `per child ever born' among the total group of
women...and among women born 1880-1904...but not among women born
1905-1929....Further analyses confirmed that women's risk per child
tended to increase with maternal age. Equivalent sets of analyses for
men showed no relationship between reproduction and
survivorship....Study findings...suggest that childbearing may increase
or accelerate women's mortality from certain diseases which occur late
in life, and that risk may increase with
age."
Correspondence: N. J. Friedlander, University of
California at San Diego, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine,
La Jolla, CA 92093-0069. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
63:10143 Grønbæk, Morten; Deis,
Allan; Sørensen, Thorkild I. A.; Becker, Ulrik; Schnohr, Peter;
Jensen, Gorm. Mortality associated with moderate intakes
of wine, beer, or spirits. British Medical Journal, Vol. 310, No.
6988, May 6, 1995. 1,165-9 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The
association between intake of different types of alcohol drinks and
mortality is analyzed using data on 6,051 men and 7,234 women in
Copenhagen, Denmark, who were followed over the period 1976-1988.
"The risk of dying steadily decreased with an increasing intake of
wine....Intake of neither beer nor spirits, however, was associated
with reduced risk....The effects of the three types of alcoholic drinks
seemed to be independent of each other, and no significant interactions
existed with sex, age, education, income, smoking, or body mass
index....Low to moderate intake of wine is associated with lower
mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and other
causes. Similar intake of spirits implied an increased risk, while beer
drinking did not affect mortality."
Correspondence: M.
Grønbæk, Copenhagen Hospital Corporation, Institute of
Preventive Medicine, Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, Copenhagen,
Denmark. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
63:10144 Hayward, Mark D.; Pienta, Amy M.;
McLaughlin, Diane K. Inequality in men's mortality: the
SES gradient and geographic context. Population Research Institute
Working Paper, No. 96-02, Jun 1996. 39 pp. Pennsylvania State
University, Population Research Institute: University Park,
Pennsylvania. In Eng.
"The SES [socioeconomic status] gradient
in mortality is pervasive, occurring across nations, time periods, and
units of analysis. In this study, we reconsider this relationship by
investigating the sensitivity of the SES mortality gradient to
residential context in the United States....Drawing on 24 years of data
from the National Longitudinal Survey, we observe that, contrary to
expectations, rural--not urban--men are advantaged in terms of life
chances. Further, our models demonstrate that rural advantages in
health coincide with a more equitable distribution of life chances
across social classes. We discuss the implications of these results for
contextualizing the SES gradient in
mortality."
Correspondence: M. D. Hayward,
Pennsylvania State University, Population Research Institute, 501
Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802. E-mail: HAYWARD@POP.PSU.edu.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10145 Hertzman, Clyde; Kelly, Shona; Bobak,
Martin. East-West life expectancy gap in Europe:
environmental and non-environmental determinants. NATO ASI Series,
Partnership Sub-Series 2: Environment, Vol. 19, ISBN 0-7923-4207-0.
1996. xvii, 235 pp. Kluwer Academic: Dordrecht, Netherlands. In Eng.
These are the proceedings of a workshop on the determinants of the
life expectancy difference between Eastern and Western Europe, held in
Surrey, England, March 20-22, 1995. "The workshop focused on the
following questions: to what extent has the life expectancy gap which
has opened up between Central and Eastern Europe and The West since the
mid-1960s been caused by the degradation of the physical and
socioeconomic environment, as opposed to unhealthy lifestyles or poor
medical care? and, why has it increased following the profound
political and economic changes which have swept the region since
1989?...The picture which emerges is both complex and comprehensive. It
highlights the primary role of the social and economic environment, but
affirms the subsidiary influences of the other determinants of health,
and illustrates how societies can both produce and undermine the health
of their citizens."
Correspondence: Kluwer Academic
Publishers Group, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10146 Jessop, E. G.
Deprivation and mortality in non-metropolitan areas of England and
Wales. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 50, No.
5, Oct 1996. 524-6 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The author tests
"the hypothesis that the relationship between deprivation and
mortality is weaker among residents of non-metropolitan areas of
England and Wales than among residents of metropolitan areas....[Data
are from] the longitudinal study of the Office of Population Censuses
and Surveys, a quasi-random 1% sample of the population of England and
Wales....There was an association between deprivation and mortality
which was clear for all cause mortality, more noticeable for
respiratory disease, and less clear for deaths from accident, violence,
and poison. In general, the results showed a remarkable similarity
between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas....This study does not
support the hypothesis that the relationship between mortality and
deprivation differs between residents of metropolitan and
non-metropolitan areas of England and
Wales."
Correspondence: E. G. Jessop, West Surrey
Health Commission, Ridgewood Centre, Old Bisley Road, Camberley, Surrey
GU16 5QE, England. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10147 Kaprio, Jaakko; Sarna, Seppo;
Fogelholm, Mikael; Koskenvuo, Markku. Total and
occupationally active life expectancies in relation to social class and
marital status in men classified as healthy at 20 in Finland.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 50, No. 6, Dec 1996.
653-60 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The authors "study
differences in total life expectancy and in occupationally active life
expectancy [in Finland] in relation to social class and marital status
in men classified as healthy as young adults." The data concern
1,662 men who were followed up over some 46 years up to 1990.
"Mean total life expectancy was highest among executives and
managers..., next highest in clerical (white collar) workers..., and
lowest in unskilled blue collar workers....Skilled workers and farmers
were intermediate....The social class gradient known to exist for
mortality is also present for occupational disability. Social class and
marital status differences in mortality are already evident in early
adulthood and continue into old age. Those with the highest life
expectancy also have the largest proportion of their life span free of
occupationally incapacitating disability."
Correspondence:
J. Kaprio, University of Helsinki, Department of Public Health,
Mannerheimintie 96A, 00250 Helsinki, Finland. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10148 Lee, Chulhee.
Socioeconomic background, disease, and mortality among Union army
recruits: implications for economic and demographic history.
Explorations in Economic History, Vol. 34, No. 1, Jan 1997. 27-55 pp.
Orlando, Florida. In Eng.
Mortality differentials among men in the
United States in the mid-nineteenth century are analyzed. Specifically,
the author "examines the effects of age, occupation, population
size of place of residence, nativity, and household wealth on the
disease and mortality experiences of Union army recruits while in
service. The pattern of the mortality differentials among the army
recruits was nearly the opposite of the normal pattern found among the
civilian populations. The observed features of disease-specific
mortality and timing of death suggest that the different degrees of
exposure to disease prior to enlistment were probably the main
determinant of the wartime mortality differentials. Wealth had a
significant effect only for diseases on which nutritional influence is
definite. Implications of these results for some issues in economic and
demographic history are discussed."
Correspondence: C.
Lee, University of Chicago, Department of Economics, 1126 East 59th
Street, Chicago, IL 60637. Location: Princeton University
Library (PF).
63:10149 Lundberg, Olle; Kåreholt,
Ingemar. The social patterning of mortality in a cohort of
elderly Swedes. Yearbook of Population Research in Finland, Vol.
33, 1996. 101-10 pp. Helsinki, Finland. In Eng.
"In this paper
we analyze the impact of social class on mortality from mid-life
onwards [among the aged in Sweden]. In 1968 1,860 persons born between
1892 and 1915 were interviewed and followed in the national cause of
death registry for the period 1968-1991. In addition, 537 of the 563
survivors were re-interviewed in 1992....There are fairly small class
differences in the probability of reaching old age. However, it appears
that mortality differentials were steeper before retirement age than
after. Still, the size of class differences in mortality seem smaller
than expected on the basis of other studies. At the same time steep
class gradients in illness and functional abilities exist among
survivors. Some possible explanations for these somewhat contradictory
findings are discussed."
Correspondence: O. Lundberg,
Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research, 106 91
Stockholm, Sweden. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10150 Näyhä, Simo.
Low mortality from ischaemic heart disease in the Sámi
district of Finland. Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 44, No. 1,
Jan 1997. 123-31 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Mortality from
ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is compared between the Sámi
(Lapp) and Finnish areas of Northern Finland. During the period 1961-90
male mortality from IHD was 41% lower in the predominantly Sámi
area (Utsjoki) and 37% and 24% lower in two partially Sámi areas
(Enontekiö and Inari, respectively) than in the purely Finnish
reference area (Kittilä). The corresponding differences for
females were 47%, 36% and 19%. Mortality figures diverged over time,
the excess mortality increasing in the areas having the greatest
percentages of Finns in their population and the deficit increasing in
the area where the percentage of Sámi was greatest....It is
concluded that the epidemic wave of IHD in Finland, which culminated in
the early 1970s, showed a time lag in the north, especially in the
Finnish and predominantly Finnish areas, while there is no indication
that this epidemic ever reached Utsjoki....The reasons for the
anomalous trends in IHD in the far north of Finland remain unknown, but
the local diet may play a role in them."
Correspondence:
S. Näyhä, Regional Institute of Occupational Health,
Kastelli Research Centre, Aapistie 1, 90220 Oulu, Finland.
Location: Princeton University Library (PR).
63:10151 Nishida, Shigeki; Watahiki,
Nobuyoshi. Sex differential in life expectancy at birth in
Japan: (1) the sex differential in recent years. Japanese Journal
of Health and Human Ecology, Vol. 62, No. 3, 1996. 127-38 pp. Tokyo,
Japan. In Jpn. with sum. in Eng.
Reasons for the differences in
life expectancy by sex observed in Japan in the period since 1990 are
examined using data from official sources. The authors note that
differences in mortality over age 50 account for around 70% of the sex
differential in life expectancy at birth. They show that heart
diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, pneumonia and bronchitis, suicide,
accidents, and particularly malignant neoplasms are the main
contributors to sex differences in mortality, and conclude that male
life expectancy could be improved by changes in male lifestyles.
For
Part 2, also published in 1996, see elsewhere in this issue.
Correspondence: S. Nishida, Institute of Public Health,
Department of Demography and Health Statistics, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai,
Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:10152 Räsänen, J.; Kauhanen, J.;
Lakka, T. A.; Kaplan, G. A.; Salonen, J. T. Religious
affiliation and all-cause mortality: a prospective population study in
middle-aged men in eastern Finland. International Journal of
Epidemiology, Vol. 25, No. 6, Dec 1996. 1,244-9 pp. London, England. In
Eng.
"We investigated the association between selected
religious groups and all-cause mortality in 1,627 eastern Finnish men
aged 42-60 years during 1984-1989 as a part of the Kuopio Ischaemic
Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD)....Our findings indicate that
mortality risk varies substantially by religious affiliation, and this
variation cannot be attributed to differences in measures for a wide
variety of health, behavioural, socioeconomic, biological, social, and
other characteristics."
Correspondence: J. T. Salonen,
University of Kuopio, Department of Community Health and General
Practice, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10153 Rossow, Ingeborg; Amundsen,
Arvid. Alcohol abuse and mortality: a 40-year prospective
study of Norwegian conscripts. Social Science and Medicine, Vol.
44, No. 2, Jan 1997. 261-7 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
The
relation between alcohol abuse and mortality is analyzed using data on
more than 40,000 Norwegian male conscripts born in 1932-1933 who were
followed up until 1991. "A total of 4,468 men died before the age
of 60 (10.8% of the sample). Alcohol abusers were found to have an
overall excess mortality of 3.3, increasing with age. The cumulative
risk of death before the age of 60...was estimated to 0.405 for the
alcohol abusers, and at least 6.7% of all deaths before the age of 60
could be attributed to alcohol abuse. Presence of chronic diseases at
conscription did not confound the estimates of excess mortality in
alcohol abusers, neither was any significant interaction between
chronic diseases at conscription and later alcohol abuse found with
respect to mortality. The most prevalent causes of death in the total
sample were, in descending order, cardiovascular diseases, malignant
tumors, and accidents. The relative risks for alcohol abusers of death
from accidents, cardiovascular diseases, and malignant tumors were
estimated at 3.2, 2.5, and 1.8
respectively."
Correspondence: I. Rossow, National
Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research, Dannevigsveien 10, 0463 Oslo,
Norway. Location: Princeton University Library (PR).
63:10154 Van Poppel, Frans; Tabeau, Ewa;
Willekens, Frans. Trends and sex-differentials in Dutch
mortality since 1850: insights from a cohort--and
period--perspective. Genus, Vol. 52, No. 3-4, Jul-Dec 1996. 107-34
pp. Rome, Italy. In Eng. with sum. in Ita; Fre.
"This paper
makes use of a recently established comparative series of period and
cohort life tables for the Netherlands for the period 1850-1991. Trends
in period and cohort life expectancy at birth for males and females are
discussed. A simple spline function is used to identify turning points
in these trends. Trends in the contribution of specific age groups to
the changes in life expectancy and to male excess mortality were
studied using the Arriaga method. For this purpose, the results of
period and cohort analysis were compared."
Correspondence:
F. Van Poppel, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic
Institute, P.O. Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, Netherlands. E-mail:
poppel@nidi.nl. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10155 Wanner, Philippe.
Differential mortality by cause of death in Norway, 1970-1985.
[Mortalité différentielle selon la cause de
décès en Norvège, 1970-1985.] European Journal of
Population/Revue Européenne de Démographie, Vol. 12, No.
3, Sep 1996. 219-38 pp. Dordrecht, Netherlands. In Fre. with sum. in
Eng.
"Data from the three Norwegian censuses of 1960, 1970 and
1990 combined with information on migration status and survival between
1970 and 1985 have permitted the estimation, through logistic
modelling, of the predictive abilities of different socio-economic
indicators on the risk of death by cause. The risk has also been
measured for each indicator separately, according to the path followed
by the individual between 1960 and 1980. The study shows very strong
disparities in risk both for men and for women, as well as a moderate
reduction in differences in risk by age. The study also shows, among
other things, the importance of taking account of socio-economic
information covering as long a period as possible and to consider the
cause of death in the study of differential mortality through a
life-history approach."
Correspondence: P. Wanner,
Office Fédéral de la Statistique, Schwarzstorstrasse 96,
3003 Bern, Switzerland. E-mail: Philippe.Wanner@bfs.admin.ch.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10156 Watahiki, Nobuyoshi; Nishida,
Shigeki. Sex differential in life expectancy at birth in
Japan: (2) trends in sex differential in life expectancy at birth from
1920 to 1990. Japanese Journal of Health and Human Ecology, Vol.
62, No. 3, 1996. 139-53 pp. Tokyo, Japan. In Jpn. with sum. in Eng.
Sex differentials in life expectancy at birth in Japan are analyzed
for the period 1920 to 1990. The results show that there was a general
increase in differences in mortality by sex over time. "The sex
differential in age-specific death rate in 0-4 year age group
(particularly age 0) explained most of the sex differential in life
expectancy at birth before 1947. After 1950, the age group of 60-79
played a major role in the sex differential in life expectancy at
birth. It is noteworthy that female mortality exceeded male mortality
in age groups of 2-41 before 1930. Consequently, excess of female
mortality reduced the sex differential in life expectancy at birth at
that period. As for the sex differential in mortality rates by causes
of death, tuberculosis, pregnancy and childbirth related disease
exerted a great influence...before 1940. Recently, malignant neoplasms,
heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and accidents [have] become
leading contributors to the sex differentials in life expectancy at
birth."
For Part 1, also published in 1996, see elsewhere in
this issue.
Correspondence: N. Watahiki, Institute of
Public Health, Department of Demography and Health Statistics, 4-6-1
Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 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.
63:10157 Berg, Cynthia J.; Atrash, Hani K.;
Koonin, Lisa M.; Tucker, Myra. Pregnancy-related mortality
in the United States, 1987-1990. Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol.
88, No. 2, Aug 1996. 161-7 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
The
authors "use data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's (CDC) Pregnancy-Related Mortality Surveillance System to
examine trends in pregnancy-related mortality and risk factors for
pregnancy-related death....After decreasing annually after 1979, the
reported pregnancy-related mortality ratio increased from 7.2 in 1987
to 10.0 in 1990. This increase occurred among women of all races. A
higher risk of pregnancy-related death was found with increasing
maternal age, increasing live-birth order, no prenatal care, and among
unmarried women. The leading causes of pregnancy-related death were
hemorrhage, embolism, and hypertensive disorders of
pregnancy....Increased efforts to identify pregnancy-related deaths
have contributed to an increase in the reported pregnancy-related
mortality ratio. More than half of such deaths, however, are probably
still unreported."
Correspondence: C. J. Berg, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop K-23, 4770 Buford Highway,
Atlanta, GA 30341-3724. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10158 Bourbeau, Robert; Noël,
Christine. The impact of demographic changes on the number
and age distribution of traffic-accident casualties in Quebec: a
projection for the period 1994-2016. [Impacts des changements
démographiques sur le nombre et la répartition par
âge des victimes de la route au Québec: une projection
pour la période 1994-2016.] Collection de Tirés à
Part, No. 374, [1995?]. 185-97 pp. Université de
Montréal, Département de Démographie: Montreal,
Canada. In Fre. with sum. in Eng.
"The purpose of this
presentation is to demonstrate the extent of variation in the number of
traffic victims and their age distribution [in the Canadian province of
Quebec] in relation to demographic projections for the 1994-2016
period. Keeping the death and morbidity rates constant at the 1991-1993
average, we predict that the number of traffic victims will increase,
which is not surprising in view of the projected population increase;
but we also project that the age distribution of these victims will
change considerably. The number of deaths will increase from 1,002 to
1,200 between 1994 and 2016 and the percentage of victims in the 45
years and over category will rise from 34% to 47%. In the same period,
the number of injured will increase from 50,900 to 56,500, and the
percentage of those 45 years and over will go from 24% to
33%."
Correspondence: Université de
Montréal, Département de Démographie, C.P. 6128,
Succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10159 Daviglus, Martha L.; Stamler,
Jeremiah; Orencia, Anthony J.; Dyer, Alan R.; Liu, Kiang; Greenland,
Philip; Walsh, Molly K.; Morris, Douglas; Shekelle, Richard B.
Fish consumption and the 30-year risk of fatal myocardial
infarction. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 336, No. 15, Apr
10, 1997. 1,046-53 pp. Boston, Masachusetts. In Eng.
Data on 1,822
men aged 40 to 55 from the Chicago Western Electric Study are used to
examine the relation between base-line fish consumption and the 30-year
risk of death from coronary heart disease. "During 47,153
person-years of follow-up, there were 430 deaths from coronary heart
disease; 293 were due to myocardial infarctions....Cox
proportional-hazards regression showed that for men who consumed 35 g
or more of fish daily as compared with those who consumed none, the
relative risks of death from coronary heart disease and from sudden or
nonsudden myocardial infarction were 0.62...and 0.56...respectively,
with a graded relation between the relative risks and the strata of
fish consumption....These data show an inverse association between fish
consumption and death from coronary heart disease, especially nonsudden
death from myocardial infarction."
Correspondence: M.
L. Daviglus, Northwestern University Medical School, Department of
Preventive Medicine, 680 North Lake Shore Drive, Suite 1102, Chicago,
IL 60611. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
63:10160 de Mateo, Salvador; Regidor,
Enrique. Standardisation or modelling of mortality
rates. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 50, No.
6, Dec 1996. 681-2 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The authors
"compare the results obtained when estimating a standardised rate
using the conventional technique of stratified analysis and using
Poisson regression, and...evaluate the speed of the two techniques in
making the calculation....The trend in motor vehicle accident mortality
in males from 1985 to 1992 in Spain was compared....The stratified
analysis took two hours and the Poisson regression 15 minutes to
complete. In the stratified analysis a single estimate for each year
was obtained, whereas the model of Poisson regression that best fitted
the data included an interaction term between age and year....Poisson
regression can be considered a serious alternative to stratified
analysis when the objective is to compare mortality rates standardised
by one or two variables."
Correspondence: S. de Mateo,
National Centre of Epidemiology, Carlos III Institute of Health,
Sinesio Delgado 6, 28029 Madrid, Spain. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10161 Fawcus, Susan; Mbizvo, Michael;
Lindmark, Gunilla; Nyström, Lennarth. A
community-based investigation of avoidable factors for maternal
mortality in Zimbabwe. Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 27, No. 6,
Nov-Dec 1996. 319-27 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"A
community-based investigation of maternal deaths was undertaken in a
rural province (Masvingo) and an urban area (Harare) of Zimbabwe in
order to assess their preventability. Avoidable factors were identified
in 90 percent of the 105 rural deaths and 85 percent of the 61 urban
deaths. Delay in seeking treatment contributed to 32 percent and 28
percent of rural and urban deaths, respectively. Lack of transportation
delayed or prevented access to health facilities in the rural area, a
major problem in 28 percent of the cases studied. Suboptimal clinic and
hospital management was identified in 67 percent and 70 percent of
rural and urban deaths, respectively. Lack of appropriately trained
personnel contributed to suboptimal care. In both settings, the
severity of patients' conditions was frequently unrecognized, leading
to delays in treatment and referral, and inadequate treatment.
Appropriate community and health-service interventions to reduce
maternal mortality are discussed."
Correspondence: S.
Fawcus, Grooteschuur Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, Observatory 7925, Cape Town, South Africa. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10162 Håheim, L. Lund; Holme, I.;
Hjermann, I.; Leren, P. Smoking habits and risk of fatal
stroke: 18 years follow up of the Oslo study. Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 50, No. 6, Dec 1996. 621-4 pp.
London, England. In Eng.
The risk of fatal stroke in relation to
smoking habits is analyzed using data from the Oslo study, a
prospective cohort study of the epidemiology and preventive aspects of
cardiovascular disease. The study involved 16,209 Norwegian men aged
40-49, of whom 85 died from stroke. "Daily cigarette smoking
increased the risk of fatal stroke three and a half times. Combined
cigarette and pipe or cigar smoking had a higher risk than smoking
cigarettes only. An increased risk was found in relation to increased
daily cigarette consumption."
Correspondence: L. L.
Håheim, Life Insurance Companies Institute of Medical Statistics,
Ullevål Hospital, Oslo, Norway. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10163 Hunink, Maria G. M.; Goldman, Lee;
Tosteson, Anna N. A.; Mittleman, Murray A.; Goldman, Paula A.;
Williams, Lawrence W.; Tsevat, Joel; Weinstein, Milton C.
The recent decline in mortality from coronary heart disease,
1980-1990: the effect of secular trends in risk factors and
treatment. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol.
277, No. 7, Feb 19, 1997. 535-42 pp. Chicago, Illinois. In Eng.
"This article examines whether secular trends in risk factor
levels, case-fatality rates, and event rates in patients with CHD
[coronary heart disease] can account for the observed decline in CHD
mortality from 1980 to 1990 [in the United States], and it analyzes the
proportional impact of these changes." Data are from the published
literature and from official sources. "[The] results suggest that
primary and secondary risk factor reductions explain about 50% of the
striking decline in coronary mortality in the United States between
1980 and 1990 but that more than 70% of the overall decline in
mortality has occurred among patients with coronary
disease."
Correspondence: M. G. M. Hunink, University
of Groningen, Department of Health Sciences, Antonius Deusinglaan 1,
9713 AV Groningen, Netherlands. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
63:10164 Levi, F.; Vecchia, C. L.; Lucchini,
F.; Negri, E. Worldwide trends in cancer mortality in the
elderly. European Journal of Cancer, Vol. 32, No. 4, 1996. 652-72
pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Trends in age-standardised
mortality for all cancers and 21 cancers or groups of cancers over the
period 1955-1992 were analysed for 33 countries from four continents in
a population aged 65-84 years. Mortality from all neoplasms in the
elderly showed heterogeneous patterns in various countries and in the
two sexes. Trends were generally more favourable for females than for
males, reflecting essentially the earlier and more extensive impact of
the lung cancer (and other tobacco-related neoplasms) epidemic in
elderly males, in addition to the earlier decline of gastric cancer and
a widespread decline of cervical cancer rates in females. In several
countries, particularly from western Europe, but also Japan, cancer
mortality trends were more favourable over the last two decades than in
earlier calendar periods. Some countries of northern and central
Europe...showed stable or even downward trends over time for total
cancer mortality in both sexes, particularly in
males."
Correspondence: F. Levi, Universitaire
Vaudois, Centre Hospitalier, Institut Universitaire de Médecine
Sociale et Préventive, Falaises 1, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10165 Meslé, France.
Medical causes of death. [Les causes médicales de
décès.] In: Démographie: analyse et
synthèse. Causes et conséquences des évolutions
démographiques, edited by Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, and
Guillaume Wunsch. Aug 1996. 209-34 pp. Centre Français sur la
Population et le Développement [CEPED]: Paris, France;
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento di
Scienze Demografiche: Rome, Italy. In Fre.
The author first
examines some of the problems involved in developing the International
Classification of Diseases used to classify causes of death. In the
second part, he describes some of the demographic methods used to
analyze these data and compares results from different approaches. The
geographical focus is worldwide.
Correspondence: F.
Meslé, Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques, 27 rue
du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex 14, France. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10166 Nordlund, Anders. Cancer
mortality in Sweden from 1931 to 1992. Yearbook of Population
Research in Finland, Vol. 33, 1996. 111-8 pp. Helsinki, Finland. In
Eng.
"Trends in age-standardized cancer mortality for Swedish
men and women, between 1931 and 1992, were studied using official cause
of death statistics. Overall, age-standardized cancer mortality
increased by about 16 percent among men and decreased by about six
percent among women during the period studied. Among both men and women
older than 70 years, age standardized cancer mortality increased. In
all other age groups decreases occurred. During the period studied, a
number of changes have occurred that affect cause of death
registration, for example, changes in classification routines and
improved diagnosis. The exact magnitude of these effects on the
observed trends is difficult to estimate, but it seems clear that a
bias towards increasing age-standardized cancer mortality has been
introduced. Furthermore, this bias may be substantial, thus obscuring
the real trends in age-standardized cancer
mortality."
Correspondence: A. Nordlund,
Linköping University, Institute of Tema Research, Department of
Health and Society, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10167 Osler, Merete; Sørensen,
Thorkild I. A.; Sørensen, Svend; Rostgaard, Klaus; Jensen, Gorm;
Iversen, Lars; Kristensen, Tage S.; Madsen, Mette. Trends
in mortality, incidence and case fatality of ischaemic heart disease in
Denmark, 1982-1992. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol.
25, No. 6, Dec 1996. 1,154-61 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"In
Denmark...a decline in mortality from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) has
been observed. The present study assesses whether the decline in IHD
mortality is due to a decrease in incidence and/or case-fatality, and
whether parallel changes occurred in the various manifestations of IHD
requiring hospitalization....Sex-specific, age-standardized annual
mortality, incidence and case-fatality rates of AMI [acute myocardial
infarction]..., narrowly defined IHD (NIHD...) and broadly defined IHD
(BIHD...) were calculated for the period 1982-1992....During the entire
period the age-standardized mortality of AMI, NIHD and BIHD decreased
in both men and women. The incidence of AMI and NIHD decreased, while
the incidence of BIHD remained constant....The declining mortality from
IHD in Denmark may be partly due to declining incidence as well as
declining case fatality, but changes in disease manifestation or
diagnostic drift may also contribute...."
Correspondence:
M. Osler, University of Copenhagen, Department of Social Medicine,
Blegdamsvej 3, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10168 Polásek,
Vladimír. Suicides in the Czech Republic.
[Sebevrazdy v Ceské republice.] Demografie, Vol. 38, No. 4,
1996. 248-61 pp. Prague, Czech Republic. In Cze. with sum. in Eng.
The author reviews trends in suicide in the Czech Republic. Aspects
considered include the number of suicides, sex and age distribution,
methods of suicide, seasonal variations, and geographical
differences.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10169 Rahlenbeck, Sibylle I.; Kahl,
Hermann. Air pollution and mortality in East Berlin during
the winters of 1981-1989. International Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol. 25, No. 6, Dec 1996. 1,220-6 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"The relationship between air pollution and mortality in East
Berlin was examined for the winters of 1981-1989....Regression analysis
included daily mean levels of sulphur dioxide...and suspended
particulates (SP), and was controlled for temperature, humidity,
week-day, month, and year....The results show that short-term
associations between air pollutants and mortality in East Berlin did
exist during the winters 1981-1989. Since the coefficients for SP and
[sulphur dioxide] dropped when controlling for the other pollutant
species, a similar strength of association with mortality for both
pollutants was found."
Correspondence: S. I.
Rahlenbeck, Gondar College of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 196, Gondar,
Ethiopia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10170 Ravindran, J.; Mathews, A.
Maternal mortality in Malaysia 1991-1992: the paradox of increased
rates. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol. 16, No. 2, Mar
1996. 86-8 pp. Abingdon, England. In Eng.
"This paper aims to
show that the establishment of a better data collection and reporting
system in Malaysia since 1991 has led to an apparent increase in the
maternal mortality ratio....Because of improved surveillance, the
maternal mortality ratio may continue to appear to rise for a few years
but should decline after that reflecting the improvement in the health
status and service delivery in Malaysia."
Correspondence:
J. Ravindran, Seremban General Hospital, Department of Obstetrics
and Gynaecology, 70300 Seremban, Malaysia. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:10171 Read, Jennifer S.; Troendle, James
F.; Klebanoff, Mark A. Infectious disease mortality among
infants in the United States, 1983 through 1987. American Journal
of Public Health, Vol. 87, No. 2, Feb 1997. 192-8 pp. Washington, D.C.
In Eng.
The relative importance of infectious disease as a cause of
infant mortality in the United States is analyzed using NCHS Linked
Birth/Infant Death Data Sets for 1983 through 1987. The results show
that "infection was the underlying cause of death for over 16,000
infants, representing the fourth leading cause of mortality in this
cohort. Almost 90% of infectious disease deaths during infancy were due
to noncongenital infections, and the majority of these deaths occurred
during the postneonatal period. Low birthweight, preterm birth, and
male gender were independently associated with postneonatal mortality
due to noncongenital infection." The authors note the need for a
revision of the NCHS classification system for causes of infant
mortality to include a category for infectious
diseases.
Correspondence: J. S. Read, National Institutes
of Health, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 4B11F, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
63:10172 Robles, Sylvia C.; White, Franklin;
Peruga, Armando. Trends in cervical cancer mortality in
the Americas. Bulletin of the Pan American Health Organization,
Vol. 30, No. 4, Dec 1996. 290-301 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
An
assessment of trends in cervical cancer mortality in the Americas is
presented based on data from the Pan American Health Organization.
"Trends were estimated for countries where data were available for
at least 10 consecutive years, the number of cervical cancer deaths was
considerable, and at least 75% of the deaths from all causes were
registered. In contrast to Canada and the United States, whose general
populations had been screened for many years and where cervical cancer
mortality has declined steadily (to about 1.4 and 1.7 deaths per
100,000 women, respectively, as of 1990), most Latin American and
Caribbean countries with available data have experienced fairly
constant levels of cervical cancer mortality (typically in the range of
5-6 deaths per 100,000 women). In addition, several other countries
(Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico) have exhibited higher cervical cancer
mortality as well as a number of noteworthy changes in this mortality
over time."
Correspondence: S. C. Robles, Pan American
Health Organization, Program on Noncommunicable Diseases, Division of
Disease Prevention and Control, 525 23rd Street NW, Washington, D.C.
20037. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10173 Rodríguez Artalejo, Fernando;
Banegas, José R.; García Colmenero, Carmen; del Rey
Calero, Juan. Lower consumption of wine and fish as a
possible explanation for higher ischaemic heart disease mortality in
Spain's Mediterranean region. International Journal of
Epidemiology, Vol. 25, No. 6, Dec 1996. 1,196-201 pp. London, England.
In Eng.
"There is an apparent paradox in the geographical
distribution of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in Spain. The
Mediterranean regions, those with the lowest consumption of total and
saturated fats, register the highest mortality due to IHD. This paper
seeks to explain this paradox by examining the provincial distribution
of IHD mortality in Spain and their known risk factors, dietetic and
non-dietetic....Mortality data were taken from official vital
statistics, while data on diet and other lifestyle habits were obtained
from representative, large-scale, sample-based population surveys.
Correlation and multiple regression analyses were run on standardized
IHD mortality ratios for the period 1983-1987 and potential dietetic
and non-dietetic determinants in 1980-1981....Based on correlation
analyses of ecological data, lower consumption of wine and fish may
explain the apparent paradox of higher IHD mortality in the presence of
a lower intake of saturated fats in Spain's Mediterranean
regions."
Correspondence: F. Rodríguez
Artalejo, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Department of
Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Avenida Arzobispo Morcillo s/n,
28029 Madrid, Spain. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10174 Ruzicka, Lado T.; Choi, Ching
Y. Demographic and social profile of suicide mortality in
Australia. Genus, Vol. 52, No. 3-4, Jul-Dec 1996. 135-54 pp. Rome,
Italy. In Eng. with sum. in Ita; Fre.
"In Australia, death
rates from suicide of young and middle-aged men increased between the
early 1970s and the early 1990s, whereas those of older men and of
women declined markedly. The article identifies the possible extent of
underreporting of suicides. The study then examines variations in the
incidence of suicide by selected social characteristics of the
population: marital status, social class and economic conditions,
province of residence and country of birth. It closes by suggesting a
tentative conceptual model linking social structures with levels of
suicide."
Correspondence: L. T. Ruzicka, The Old
School, George Street, Major's Creek, nr. Braidwood, NSW 2622,
Australia. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10175 Samb, Badara; Aaby, Peter; Whittle,
Hilton; Seck, Awa M. C.; Simondon, Francois. Decline in
measles case fatality ratio after the introduction of measles
immunization in rural Senegal. American Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol. 145, No. 1, Jan 1, 1997. 51-7 pp. Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"The epidemiology of measles has been investigated in Niakhar,
a rural area of Senegal, during two periods, 1983-1986 and 1987-1990.
Following a major increase in immunization coverage beginning in 1987,
the case fatality ratio for all ages declined fourfold from the first
to the second period....The measles incidence for children under 10
years of age declined by 69%...and the risk of dying of measles by
91%....Vaccinated children who contracted measles had significantly
lower case fatality ratio than unvaccinated children with
measles....Children infected by an immunized case tended to have lower
case fatality ratio than those infected by an unimmunized index
case...and immunized index cases generated fewer secondary cases than
unimmunized index cases....Measles immunization may contribute to lower
mortality directly through reduced incidence and indirectly through
increases in age at infection, less severe infection for immunized
cases and changes in transmission patterns leading to reduced severity
of measles."
Correspondence: P. Aaby, Statens
Seruminstitut, Department of Epidemiology Research, Artillerivej 5,
2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
63:10176 Trivedi, S. K.; Khanna,
Anoop. Study of causes of maternal mortality at
sub-district level. Health and Population: Perspectives and
Issues, Vol. 18, No. 1, Jan-Mar 1995. 37-44 pp. New Delhi, India. In
Eng. with sum. in Hin.
"The study analyses the causes of
maternal deaths and suggests certain concrete measures to reduce the
incidence of preventable maternal mortality. Apart from analysing the
causes of maternal deaths, the study includes a case control study [in
Rajasthan, India] to compare the characteristics of death cases with
the cases in which women gave birth and survived. The study was
conducted in both directions, i.e., retrospectively and
prospectively."
Correspondence: S. K. Trivedi, Indian
Institute of Health Management Research, 1 Prabhudayal Marg, Sanganer
Airport, Jaipur, India. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:10177 United States. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC] (Atlanta, Georgia). Projected
smoking-related deaths among youth--United States. Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 45, No. 44, Nov 8, 1996. 971-4 pp.
Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
"To assess the need for continued
[U.S.] public health efforts to prevent nicotine addiction, CDC used a
model including data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS) to project the future impact of smoking on the health of
children and teenagers. This report presents the findings of the
analysis, which indicate that, if current tobacco-use patterns persist,
an estimated 5 million persons who were aged 0-17 years in 1995 will
die prematurely from a smoking-related
illness."
Correspondence: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:10178 Wolleswinkel-van den Bosch, Judith
H.; van Poppel, Frans W. A.; Mackenbach, Johan P.
Reclassifying causes of death to study the epidemiological
transition in the Netherlands,1875-1992. European Journal of
Population/Revue Européenne de Démographie, Vol. 12, No.
4, Dec 1996. 327-61 pp. Dordrecht, Netherlands. In Eng. with sum. in
Fre.
"This article describes a method for reclassifying causes
of death in the Netherlands for the period 1875-1992....A method
developed by Vallin and Meslé (1988), which involves `dual
correspondence tables' and `fundamental associations', was used to
create nosologically continuous categories. These categories were
tested for statistical continuity during the transition years of one
ICD-revision [International Classification of Diseases] to the next,
using ordinary least squares regression analysis. The reclassification
procedure resulted in a nested classification consisting of three
levels of refinement of causes of death: 27 causes, 1875-1992; 65
causes, 1901-1992; and 92 causes, 1931-1992. On the basis of this
classification, 43% of all deaths in 1875-79 and 98% of all deaths in
1992 could be allocated to either communicable diseases,
non-communicable diseases or external
causes."
Correspondence: J. H. Wolleswinkel-van den
Bosch, Erasmus University, Department of Public Health, Faculty of
Medicine and Health Sciences, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam,
Netherlands. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
