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.
63:40109 Chen, Yude; Hu, Jianping; Rao,
Keqin. An analysis of the causes of deaths in Beijing and
Shanghai. In: Research papers on interrelationship between
population growth in developing countries and global environment,
Volume II. Mar 3, 1997. 303-19 pp. National Institute of Population and
Social Security Research: Tokyo, Japan. In Eng.
"As [the] two
largest metropolitan cities in northern and southern China, Beijing and
Shanghai play a very important role in the nation. This report will
give a description and comparison of their death events and
compositions during 1987-1993, [for] urban and rural residents in
particular....We also have [provided a] detailed analysis [of] causes
of deaths for specific age groups...."
Correspondence:
Y. Chen, Ministry of Health, Center for Health Statistics
Information, 1-2-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-45, Japan.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40110 Gjonça, Arjan; Wilson, Chris;
Falkingham, Jane. Paradoxes of health transition in
Europe's poorest country: Albania 1950-90. Population and
Development Review, Vol. 23, No. 3, Sep 1997. 585-609, 689-90 pp. New
York, New York. In Eng. with sum. in Fre; Spa.
"Scholars
interested in the ways in which good health, as measured by levels of
mortality, can be achieved at low cost have paid considerable attention
to countries and regions in Asia and Latin America where this has been
accomplished. Until recently the analogous experience of a poor
developing country in Europe, Albania, was impossible to study, because
of the totalitarian and isolationist policies of the communist regime
that ruled the country from 1944 to 1990. The authors chart the main
trends in mortality transition in Albania, examine the underlying and
proximate causes of the mortality decline, and consider the wider
relevance of the results. They conclude with a discussion of
postcommunist developments in the country and their influence on
mortality change."
Correspondence: A. Gjonça,
London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Social
Policy and Administration, Houghton Street, Aldwych, London WC2A 2AE,
England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40111 Katus, Kalev; Puur, Allan.
Mortality development and economic transition: case of
Estonia. Rahvastiku-Uuringud/Population Studies Series B, No. 35,
ISBN 9985-820-38-X. 1997. 37 pp. Estonian Interuniversity Population
Research Centre: Tallinn, Estonia. In Eng.
"The paper was
prepared in the framework of the UNU WIDER Project on Economic Shocks,
Social Stress and Mortality Impact...[which] sought for the explanation
of excess mortality [that] has been observed in many countries since
the end of [the] 1980s. However, evidence presented in the paper gives
strong support to [the] hypothesis that the mortality increase observed
in Estonia during [the] current economic transition should be
considered in the wider context of the long-term mortality
stagnation...." General mortality trends in Estonia over the
course of the twentieth century are discussed, as well as trends in
specific causes of death such as crime, traffic accidents, alcohol,
smoking, and diet.
Correspondence: Estonian Interuniversity
Population Research Centre, P.O. Box 3012, 0090 Tallinn, Estonia.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40112 Meslé, France; Vallin,
Jacques. Mortality around the world: trends and
prospects. [La mortalité dans le monde: tendances et
perspectives.] In: La population du monde: enjeux et problèmes,
edited by Jean-Claude Chasteland and Jean-Claude Chesnais. 1997. 461-79
pp. Presses Universitaires de France: Paris, France; Institut National
d'Etudes Démographiques [INED]: Paris, France. In Fre.
This
is a review of current global trends in mortality. The authors analyze
geographical differences in mortality around the world and discuss the
end of what they describe as "third-world mortality", as well
as the various stages in the health transition and the prospects of all
the world's population attaining a life expectancy of 85
years.
Correspondence: F. Meslé, Institut National
d'Etudes Démographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex
14, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40113 Mexico. Secretaría de Salud.
Dirección General de Estadística e Informática
(Mexico City, Mexico). Health indicators: the principal
data on mortality in Mexico for 1993. [Indicadores y noticias de
salud: principales resultados de la estadística sobre mortalidad
en México, 1993.] Salud Pública de México, Vol.
37, No. 2, Mar-Apr 1995. 171-8 pp. Morelos, Mexico. In Spa.
Summary
data from the National System of Health Information concerning
mortality in Mexico in 1993 are presented in the form of six tables.
The data are for total deaths by sex and age group and for various
aspects of the causes of death, including years of life lost and life
expectancy.
Correspondence: Secretaría de Salud,
Dirección General de Estadística e Informática,
Morelos, Mexico. Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine,
Bethesda, MD.
63:40114 Peng, Fei. A
spatial-temporal approach to mortality: the case of China in the
1980s. [Approche spatio-temporelle de la mortalité: cas de
la Chine dans les années 1980.] Institut de Démographie
Monographie, No. 9, ISBN 2-87209-481-4. [1997]. xii, 257 pp.
Academia-Bruylant: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; L'Harmattan: Paris,
France. In Fre.
This is a general analysis of mortality trends in
China in the 1980s. The author uses data from the 1982 and 1990
censuses to construct life tables by sex for each province. These
tables are then used to analyze differences in mortality by province,
as well as changes in mortality that occurred between 1982 and
1990.
Correspondence: Bruylant-Academia, Grand Rue, 25
Boîte 115, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40115 Pikálek, Darek.
Changes within the survivorship function of the Czech population
during the years 1900-1960. [Zmeny v rádu
vymírání ceské populace v letech 1900 az
1960.] Demografie, Vol. 39, No. 2, 1997. 94-100 pp. Prague, Czech
Republic. In Cze. with sum. in Eng.
The author analyzes mortality
changes in the Czech population during the period 1900-1960. "The
key transitions of the mortality characteristics can be [seen]
especially in the following fields: the medium life span of both sexes
almost doubled, [and] infant and child mortality declined....The excess
mortality of males has increased in all age
categories."
Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40116 Seligson, Mitchell A.; McElhinny,
Vincent. Low-intensity warfare, high-intensity death: the
demographic impact of wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua. In:
Demographic diversity and change in the Central American Isthmus,
edited by Anne R. Pebley and Luis Rosero-Bixby. 1997. 59-95 pp. RAND:
Santa Monica, California. In Eng.
This article evaluates the
available data on the mortality associated with the civil wars in El
Salvador (1980-1991) and Nicaragua (1975-1990), and estimates the
demographic impact of the fighting. The authors also demonstrate how
these wars had a differential impact on mortality by socioeconomic
class, occupation, and political persuasion.
Correspondence:
M. A. Seligson, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Political
Science, 4N27 Forbes Quadrangle, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. E-mail:
Seligson+@pitt.edu. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40117 Spagnoli, Paul G. The
unique decline of mortality in revolutionary France. Journal of
Family History, Vol. 22, No. 4, Oct 1997. 425-61 pp. Thousand Oaks,
California. In Eng.
"This article seeks to draw historians'
attention to a neglected reconstruction of the French population and
its mortality rates developed by the Institut National d'Etudes
Démographiques in the 1970s. The reconstruction shows a sharp
decline in French mortality rates, beginning in the 1790s and
continuing through the 1820s. This conflicts with recent historiography
stressing the negative effects of the Revolution. This article contends
that the reconstruction is plausible and that the French mortality
decline was unique in Europe in this period. In turn, this suggests
that the Revolution had a much more favorable impact than many
historians would have us believe."
Correspondence: P.
G. Spagnoli, Boston College, Department of History, Chestnut Hill, MA
02167. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40118 Szreter, Simon.
Urbanisation, mortality and the standard of living debate in
Britain in the nineteenth century: new estimates of the expectations of
life at birth in large British cities. Working Papers in
Demography, No. 67, 1996. 36 pp. Australian National University,
Research School of Social Sciences, Department of Demography: Canberra,
Australia. In Eng.
"This paper provides empirically-based
estimates for life expectancy at birth in the largest British cities in
the nineteenth century, using a method devised by Dr. Graham Mooney.
These new estimates are used to present a new model of the relationship
between urbanisation and changing mortality levels in England and Wales
across the decades of the nineteenth century....The demographic
evidence presented here indicates...that the second quarter of the
nineteenth century was a period of severe deterioration in urban living
conditions and life chances; and that this decline was not reversed
until the last quarter of the century."
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).
63:40119 Trudeau, Richard.
Monthly and daily patterns of death. [Profils mensuels et
quotidiens des décès.] Health Reports/Rapports sur la
Santé, Vol. 9, No. 1, Summer 1997. 43-50; 45-53 pp. Ottawa,
Canada. In Eng; Fre.
"Using Canadian mortality data from 1974
to 1995, this article examines seasonal and daily patterns of death by
cause....For at least the past two decades, the highest number of
deaths [has] occurred in the winter months. By specific cause, notable
exceptions were deaths attributable to motor vehicle accidents and
suicide. On a weekly basis, Saturday saw the largest numbers of
deaths."
Correspondence: R. Trudeau, Statistics
Canada, Distributive Trades Division, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6, Canada.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40120 United States. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC] (Atlanta, Georgia). Mortality
patterns--preliminary data, United States, 1996. Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 46, No. 40, Oct 10, 1997. 941-8 pp.
Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
"This report summarizes preliminary
1996 vital statistics data from CDC's National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS) and compares these data with data from 1995 and, for
life expectancy, data from 1900 to 1995. The findings indicate declines
in the rates for most leading causes of death and the infant mortality
rate and an increase in overall estimated life
expectancy."
Correspondence: U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40121 Zhao, Zhongwei.
Long-term mortality patterns in Chinese history: evidence from a
recorded clan population. Population Studies, Vol. 51, No. 2, Jul
1997. 117-27 pp. London, England. In Eng.
"This study, by
analysing a set of Chinese genealogies, examines long-term mortality
patterns in a selected clan population over a period of more than 1,000
years. The result shows that, in this selected population, mortality
fluctuated around a relatively high level and showed no secular change
over the very long period studied. The study also provides a comparison
between the mortality patterns found in the selected population and
those observed in a much larger Chinese lineage population, as well as
those recorded among the British elites born between the sixteenth and
the early nineteenth century. Based on the findings of this research,
the paper presents some tentative suggestions about long-term mortality
changes in Chinese history."
Correspondence: Z. Zhao,
Australian National University, Research School of Social Sciences,
Division of Demography and Sociology, Demography Programme, Canberra,
ACT 2601, Australia. 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.
63:40122 Ceesay, Sana M.; Prentice, Andrew M.;
Cole, Timothy J.; Foord, Frances; Weaver, Lawrence T.; Poskitt,
Elizabeth M. E.; Whitehead, Roger G. Effects on birth
weight and perinatal mortality of maternal dietary supplements in rural
Gambia: 5 year randomised controlled trial. British Medical
Journal, Vol. 315, No. 7111, Sep 27, 1997. 786-90 pp. London, England.
In Eng.
The efficacy of a dietary supplement program on birth
weight and infant survival in rural Gambia is examined. The program
involved a five-year controlled trial of pregnant women in 28 villages
who were given a daily supplement of high-energy groundnut biscuits for
about 20 weeks before delivery. "Prenatal dietary supplementation
reduced retardation in intrauterine growth when effectively targeted at
genuinely at-risk mothers. This was associated with a substantial
reduction in the prevalence of stillbirths and in early neonatal
mortality. The intervention can be successfully delivered through a
primary healthcare system."
Correspondence: A. M.
Prentice, MRC Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Cambridge CB2 2DH,
England. E-mail: andrew.prentice@MRC-Dunn.cam.ac.uk. Location:
Princeton University Library (SZ).
63:40123 Hsieh, Hui-Lung; Lee, Kwang-Sun;
Khoshnood, Babak; Herschel, Marguerite. Fetal death rate
in the United States, 1979-1990: trend and racial disparity.
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 89, No. 1, Jan 1997. 33-9 pp. New York,
New York. In Eng.
The authors "examine the impact of changes
in birth weight distribution in individual groups and in birth
weight-specific fetal death rates on the decline in the crude fetal
death rate in the United States....In the period 1979-1990, all racial
groups had a decrease in the crude fetal death rate, more so in whites
and others (about 22%) than in blacks (10%). In the white population,
73.4% of the total reduction in the crude fetal death rate was
attributable to the improvement in birth weight-specific fetal death
rates, and the remaining portion of the reduction was due to a
favorable change in birth weight distribution. In the black population,
the reduction in the crude fetal death rate was entirely attributable
to the improvement in the birth weight-specific fetal death rates.
However, in other groups, a favorable change in the birth weight
distribution was the major determinant."
Correspondence:
H.-L. Hsieh, University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine,
Wyler Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Chicago, IL 60637.
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.
63:40124 Arbaiza, Mercedes; Guerrero, Ana;
Pareja, Arantza. Rural and urban worlds in the Vizcayan
mortality transition (1770-1930). [Mundo rural y mundo urbano en
la transición de la mortalidad vizcaína (1770-1930).]
Boletín de la Asociación de Demografía
Histórica, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1996. 19-55 pp. Alicante, Spain. In
Spa. with sum. in Eng; Fre.
"This article tries to establish
the chronology and phases of infant and child mortality transition in
the long run (1770-1930) in the province of Biscay (Basque Country)
[Spain]. We have worked with a population sample of 150,000 inhabitants
representative of rural, urban and industrial areas of the
province....We have been able to confirm the differences in the
evolution and intensity of death between urban and rural areas, as well
as to verify that [an] urbanization factor linked to migration flows
was [a] determinant for the evolution of urban child
mortality."
Correspondence: M. Arbaiza, Universidad
del País Vasco, Departamento de Historia Contemporánea,
Bilbao, Spain. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40125 Bairagi, Radheshyam; Shuaib,
Muhammad; Hill, Allan G. Estimating childhood mortality
trends from routine data: a simulation using the preceding birth
technique in Bangladesh. Demography, Vol. 34, No. 3, Aug 1997.
411-20 pp. Silver Spring, Maryland. In Eng.
"We used data from
the Matlab [Bangladesh] surveillance system to test the accuracy of
[childhood] mortality estimates derived using the PBT [preceding birth
technique] with data obtained from mothers at antenatal visits and at
the vaccination of their youngest children. The study shows that the
PBT estimates under-3 rather than under-2 mortality in Bangladesh due
to the long birth intervals. The data, when used to simulate the
collection of the information at antenatal or postnatal visits,
nonetheless provide an accurate description of under-3 mortality trends
and differences for the two periods examined--before 1984 and before
1989."
Correspondence: R. Bairagi, Population Studies
Centre, G.P.O. Box 128, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. E-mail:
Bairagi@cholera.bangla.net. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:40126 Bradshaw, Benjamin S.; Blanchard,
Kenneth S.; Thompson, George H. Postneonatal diarrhea
mortality of Mexican American and Anglo American infants: trends and
context. Population Research and Policy Review, Vol. 16, No. 3,
Jun 1997. 225-42 pp. Dordrecht, Netherlands. In Eng.
"This
article traces the contribution of infant diarrhea and enteritis to the
difference in mortality of Mexican origin and Anglo-American infants in
San Antonio [Texas] from 1935 through 1969, using a portion of a unique
51-year database of consistently coded births and deaths....The paper
has three goals: (1) to describe the trends in diarrhea-associated
mortality of Mexican origin infants compared with other white infants;
(2) to trace the transition in the characteristics of diarrhea as a
cause of death; and (3) to examine preliminarily the historic
socioeconomic and environmental context of infant mortality and discuss
the possible current application of such a study....The evidence
suggests that miserable living conditions in densely settled
neighborhoods without proper water supplies and sanitation gave rise to
environmental contamination resulting in high diarrhea
mortality."
Correspondence: B. S. Bradshaw, University
of Texas, Health Science Center, School of Public Health, 7703 Floyd
Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78284-7976. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:40127 Carlson, Elwood; Hoem, Jan
M. The low-weight infant-survival paradox: nurture, not
nature. Stockholm Research Reports in Demography, No. 118, ISBN
91-7820-107-1. Feb 1997. 10, [3] pp. Stockholm University, Demography
Unit: Stockholm, Sweden. In Eng.
"Infant-mortality patterns
from Czech vital statistics reveal an anomalous temporary survival
advantage for low-weight births to disadvantaged (unmarried,
less-educated) women. This temporary advantage is particularly
noticeable for deaths from congenital anomalies, and disappears after
the neonatal period. The same patterns have been observed for
low-weight births to black women in the United States. Since the Czech
results must be attributed to social circumstances, it seems reasonable
to assert that U.S. race-related patterns are also due to social
realities of racial identification rather than distinctive hereditary
influences on birth weight and birth-weight-specific
survival."
Correspondence: Stockholm University,
Demography Unit, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Author's E-mail:
Jan.Hoem@SUDA.SU.SE. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40128 Cesar, Cibele C.; Palloni, Alberto;
Rafalimanana, Hantamalala. Analysis of child mortality
with clustered data: a review of alternative models and
procedures. CDE Working Paper, No. 97-04, [1997]. 36, [13] pp.
University of Wisconsin, Center for Demography and Ecology: Madison,
Wisconsin. In Eng.
Alternative methods for analyzing clustered
child mortality data are evaluated. "The plan of the paper is as
follows: Section II reviews basic estimation approaches for the
analysis of correlated sibling survival data; Section III uses
simulation to assess the performance of the approaches introduced in
Section II. In Section IV we discuss the application of these methods
to data from Brazil and, finally, in Section V we address some issues
of interpretation."
Correspondence: University of
Wisconsin, Center for Demography and Ecology, 4412 Social Science
Building, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1393. E-mail:
cdepubs@ssc.wisc.edu. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40129 Das Gupta, Monica.
Socio-economic status and clustering of child deaths in rural
Punjab. Population Studies, Vol. 51, No. 2, Jul 1997. 191-202 pp.
London, England. In Eng.
"In this paper alternative models for
testing for child death clustering are explored, using data from
Punjab. Significant evidence of clustering is found only amongst the
lower socio-economic and educational groups....As maternal education
and socio-economic status rise, the negative deviance in factors
related to child mortality appears to be removed. The extent of
clustering is quite high in this population, indicating substantial
potential for reducing child mortality by focusing services on
high-risk households. Family building factors such as short birth
intervals and high parity births do not raise child mortality when
families are disaggregated by level of risk. They seem to be an effect
rather than a cause of clustering of child
deaths."
Correspondence: M. Das Gupta, Harvard
University, Center for Population and Development Studies, 9 Bow
Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:40130 Elmén, Håkan.
Death rates and causes of death among children and youth in
Göteborg, Sweden 1971-85. Scandinavian Journal of Social
Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 4, Dec 1994. 249-55 pp. Oslo, Norway. In Eng.
"The aim of this study is to describe the development of
mortality rates among children (1-14 years) and youth (15-24 years) in
1971-85 in Göteborg and to analyse the development in mortality by
causes of death and by comparison with all of Sweden." Results
indicate that "the death rate per 100,000 children decreased from
32 in 1971-75 to 24 in 1981-85 and in youth from 76 to 54. Accidents
and human violence together with tumours and congenital malformations
remained the most important causes of death in children, together
accounting for 2/3 of all deaths."
Correspondence: H.
Elmén, Barn-Ungdomsmottagningen, Vårdcentralen Gripen, Box
547, 651 12 Karlstad, Sweden. Location: U.S. National Library
of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40131 Erdozáin, Pilar; Mikelarena,
Fernando. Infant and child mortality, marital fertility,
and family economy among peasants in Navarre (1860-1930).
[Mortalidad infantil y juvenil, fecundidad matrimonial y
economías familiares campesinas en Navarra (1860-1930).]
Boletín de la Asociación de Demografía
Histórica, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1996. 83-114 pp. Alicante, Spain. In
Spa. with sum. in Eng; Fre.
"This article analyzes the
following four questions. Firstly, the evolutions of infant and child
mortality and the evolution of marital fertility in rural Navarre
[Spain] from 1860 to 1930. Secondly, the [registered] changes around
the size and the composition of the rural households in the central
area of Navarre where the stem-family prevailed....Thirdly, the
evolution of the quotient between the numbers of potentially active
household members and the number of consumption units. Finally, the
technical change effects concerning the family labor requirements: the
agrarian mechanization process and the intensification of
crops."
Correspondence: P. Erdozáin,
Universidad de Zaragoza, Departamento de Estructura e Historia
Económica, 50009 Saragossa, Spain. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:40132 Kuhn, Louise; Stein, Zena.
Infant survival, HIV infection, and feeding alternatives in
less-developed countries. American Journal of Public Health, Vol.
87, No. 6, Jun 1997. 926-31 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"In
this paper, we model the expected frequency of adverse outcomes (HIV
infections and infant deaths) associated with different infant feeding
practices in the context of the HIV epidemic [in developing countries].
We compare complete avoidance of breast-feeding with optimal prolonged
breast-feeding (up to 12 months or longer), and, unlike previous
models, we also compare each of these with early cessation of
breast-feeding (by 3 months of age). Throughout, we consider the
implications for known HIV-seropositive women and for women who do and
those who do not know their serostatus."
Correspondence:
L. Kuhn, Columbia University, Sergievsky Center, 630 W. 168th
Street, New York, NY 10032. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
63:40133 Kytir, Josef; Köck,
Christian. Epidemiologic causes of the above-average
infant mortality in Vienna. [Epidemiologische Ursachen der
überdurchschnittlichen Säuglingssterblichkeit in Wien.]
Demographische Informationen, 1995-1996. 82-92, 163 pp. Vienna,
Austria. In Ger. with sum. in Eng.
"This present analysis is
looking into the epidemiologic causes of the above-average infant
mortality in Vienna using a population-based cohort study (birth
cohorts 1984-93)....The estimation of crude and adjusted relative risks
as well as of 95%-confidence intervals demonstrates that Vienna's
higher infant mortality rate is statistically significant, that
socio-demographic risk groups are not responsible whereas the higher
rate of premature births is; it furthermore shows that infant mortality
is above-average in other big provincial capitals as well. From the
health policy point of view this means that all measures taken to lower
infant mortality should be aimed at the period before birth, i.e.
improving antenatal care."
Correspondence: J. Kytir,
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für
Demographie, Hintere Zollamtsstraße 2b, 1033 Vienna, Austria.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40134 Mturi, Akim J.; Curtis, Siân
L. The determinants of infant and child mortality in
Tanzania. Health Policy and Planning, Vol. 10, No. 4, Dec 1995.
384-94 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"This paper investigates
the determinants of infant and child mortality in Tanzania using the
1991/92 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey....Short birth
intervals, teenage pregnancies and previous child deaths are associated
with increased risk of death....Further, this study shows that there is
a remarkable lack of infant and child mortality differentials by
socioeconomic subgroups of the population, which may reflect
post-independence health policy and development
strategies."
Correspondence: A. J. Mturi, University
of Southampton, Department of Social Statistics, Southampton SO9 5NH,
England. Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine,
Bethesda, MD.
63:40135 Ntozi, James P. M.; Nakanaabi,
Immaculate M. The AIDS epidemic and infant and child
mortality in six districts of Uganda. Health Transition Review,
Vol. 7, Suppl., 1997. 189-205 pp. Canberra, Australia. In Eng.
"The paper uses retrospective survey data of six districts in
the east, south and west of Uganda to study infant and child mortality,
which increased in the 1980s probably because of the AIDS epidemic and
started declining in the early 1990s, a period when the epidemic was
reported to be subsiding. Deeper analysis of data indicates that
children whose parents are polygamous, educated, formally employed and
in business are at a higher risk of death from AIDS and related
illness. Although AIDS as a direct cause of death is the fourth leading
killer of children, other serious diseases such as diarrhoea,
respiratory infection and measles are associated with
AIDS."
Correspondence: J. P. M. Ntozi, Makerere
University, Department of Population Studies, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala,
Uganda. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40136 Pasi, Antonia. Infant
mortality and medical knowledge in Italy in the nineteenth
century. [Mortalità infantile e cultura medica in Italia
nel XIX secolo.] Bollettino di Demografia Storica, No. 23, 1995. 71-96
pp. Bologna, Italy. In Ita.
The initiatives concerning infant
health taken by the Italian medical profession during the nineteenth
century, such as the move toward greater supervision of babies given
out to wet-nurses and the encouragement of day care facilities for
small children, are described. Attitudes and practices surrounding
breast- and bottle-feeding are also examined. The emphasis is on how
such developments affected infant mortality.
Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40137 Sodemann, M.; Jakobsen, M. S.;
Mølbak, K.; Alvarenga, I. C.; Aaby, P. High
mortality despite good care-seeking behaviour: a community study of
childhood deaths in Guinea-Bissau. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization/Bulletin de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé,
Vol. 75, No. 3, 1997. 205-12 pp. Geneva, Switzerland. In Eng. with sum.
in Fre.
"We conducted the present study [in Guinea-Bissau] on
patterns of care-seeking behaviour prior to a child's death to
investigate child mortality on the basis of the mother's experience.
The aim was to obtain individual case histories that could be used to
improve patient management in primary health care programmes and
thereby lower childhood mortality in developing countries." The
results "reveal a need for improved hospital admission criteria,
improved recognition of the symptoms of serious illness, better
discharge criteria, and the implementation of quality assurance systems
for health services."
Correspondence: M. Sodemann,
University of Aarhus, Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine,
Hoegh-Guldbergsgade 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40138 Souza, Regina K. T. de; Gotlieb,
Sabina L. D. Probability of dying in the first year of
life in an urban area of southern Brazil. [Probabilidade de morrer
no primeiro ano de vida em área urbana da região sul,
Brasil.] Revista de Saúde Pública/Journal of Public
Health, Vol. 27, No. 6, Dec 1993. 445-54 pp. São Paulo, Brazil.
In Por.
"A birth-cohort of 4,876 children born alive in
hospital [in Brazil] were selected and followed through up to the age
of one year with a view to estimating the risk of dying in the first
year of life....The estimated probability of dying in the first year
was of 19.9 per 1,000 (77.3% of the deaths occurred during the neonatal
period)....A higher probability of death was present among infants born
to adolescent mothers, and those with low birthweight (less than
2,500g)."
Correspondence: R. K. T. de Souza, Avenida
Colombo 3690, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil. Location:
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40139 Sowards, Kathryn A.
Premature birth and the changing composition of newborn infectious
disease mortality: reconsidering "exogenous" mortality.
Demography, Vol. 34, No. 3, Aug 1997. 399-409 pp. Silver Spring,
Maryland. In Eng.
"Linked death and birth records from San
Antonio, Texas reveal that infectious infant mortality is increasingly
a function of premature birth and low birth weight. Between 1935 and
1944, 4% of infectious infant deaths had associated causes involving
prematurity and related conditions; by 1980, 25% of infectious infant
deaths involved prematurity and more than 40% of those infants weighed
less than 2,500 grams. The shift in birth-weight composition results
almost entirely from an increase in very low-weight births. Under
conditions of advanced perinatal technology, infectious infant
mortality should no longer be viewed as wholly exogenous. These
findings further undermine the contemporary relevance of the
exogenous-endogenous distinction."
Correspondence: K.
A. Sowards, Washington State University, Department of Sociology,
Pullman, WA 99164-4020. E-mail: sowardsk@vancouver.wsu.edu.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40140 Stockwell, Edward G.; Goza, Franklin
W. Infant mortality and economic status in metropolitan
Ohio, total and cause-specific: 1979-81 and 1989-91. Sociological
Focus, Vol. 29, No. 1, Feb 1996. 73-82 pp. Bowling Green, Ohio. In Eng.
"This paper presents the results of an ecological analysis of
the relationship between infant mortality and economic status in a
metropolitan aggregate comprised of six of the larger cities in Ohio
covering the years 1979-81 and 1989-91....Results of the analysis
revealed, first of all, that there continues to be a clear and
pronounced inverse association between the aggregate economic status of
an area and the probability that a newborn infant will not survive the
first year of life. There are, however, some noteworthy race-cause
differences....Only one cause, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, stood out
as having a generally consistent and very strong inverse relationship
with economic status."
Correspondence: E. G.
Stockwell, Bowling Green State University, Department of Sociology,
Bowling Green, OH 43403-0231. Location: Princeton University
Library (PR).
63:40141 Taucher, Erica. The
impact of fertility decline on levels of infant mortality. In: The
fertility transition in Latin America, edited by José M.
Guzmán, Susheela Singh, Germán Rodríguez, and
Edith A. Pantelides. 1996. 289-309 pp. Clarendon Press: Oxford,
England. In Eng.
"In this chapter, the mechanisms through
which a reduction in fertility may act on infant mortality are
summarized. Then the differentials in infant mortality--in terms of
birth order, age of mother, and birth interval--are analysed. Along
with discussion of possible confounding variables, reference will be
made to the difficulty of obtaining adequate data to separate out the
true relationships from those that may be spurious. Finally, an attempt
will be made to give an overall view of the state of fertility and
infant mortality [in Latin America]."
Correspondence:
E. Taucher, Traiguén 2332, Santiago 9, Chile. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40142 Ventisette, Moreno.
Infant mortality in Italy: 1863-1992. [La mortalità
infantile in Italia: 1863-1992.] Bollettino di Demografia Storica, No.
23, 1995. 133-62 pp. Bologna, Italy. In Ita.
Using data from
official sources, trends in infant mortality in Italy are analyzed from
the unification of the country in 1860 up to the year 1992.
Consideration is given to mortality trends in the first months of life
and in the second year, and to differences in infant mortality by
sex.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40143 Victora, Cesar G.; Olinto, Maria T.
A.; Barros, Fernando C.; Nobre, Leticia C. Falling
diarrhoea mortality in northeastern Brazil: did ORT play a role?
Health Policy and Planning, Vol. 11, No. 2, Jun 1996. 132-41 pp.
Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The impact of oral rehydration
therapy (ORT) on the recent decline in diarrhoea mortality in the
northeast of Brazil was studied. Proportionate infant mortality fell
from 32% in 1980 to 17% in 1989 and infant deaths attributed to
diarrhoea dropped from 41% to 25%, resulting in an overall reduction of
57%....A simulation model estimated that changes in factors other than
ORT would lead to a 21% reduction in infant diarrhoea mortality, or
about one-third of the actual decline. Finally, an ecological analysis
showed that ORT use rates were inversely correlated to infant diarrhoea
mortality...."
Correspondence: C. G. Victora,
Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Departamento de Medicina Social, CP
464, 96001 Pelotas, RS, Brazil. Location: U.S. National
Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40144 Xu, Baizhuang; Rimpelä, Arja;
Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Nieminen, Mauri. Sex
differences of infant and child mortality in China. Scandinavian
Journal of Social Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 4, Dec 1994. 242-8 pp. Oslo,
Norway. In Eng.
"The purpose of this paper was to study the
sex differences in infant mortality and mortality before the age of 5
in China, and the differences between urban and rural areas on the one
hand and urban areas of mainland China and Hong Kong on the
other....Infant mortality of both sexes decreased notably from the
1970s onwards, the sex ratios of mortality being 1.15 in 1973-75, 1.06
in 1981 and 0.86 in 1990. A remarkable decline of mortality before the
age of 5 was also seen in both sexes, but the sex ratios of mortality
were not greatly altered, remaining less than 1 from the 1970s
on."
Correspondence: B. Xu, University of Oulu,
Department of Public Health and General Practice, Aapistie 1, 90220
Oulu, Finland. Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine,
Bethesda, MD.
Studies of age-specific mortality and of mortality in special groups defined by age.
63:40145 Alho, Juha M.; Nyblom,
Jukka. Mixed estimation of old-age mortality.
Mathematical Population Studies, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1997. 319-30, 335 pp.
Amsterdam, Netherlands. In Eng. with sum. in Fre.
"Section 2
will first extend the method of mixed estimation to maximum likelihood
estimation in general. Then, we will review generalized linear models
with logistic and Poisson regressions as examples. In Section 3 we
discuss different approaches for formulating the auxiliary information
in practice. Section 4 first reviews the method of Coale and Kisker,
provides empirical estimates for it, and then proceeds with the mixed
estimation variant. In Section 5 we apply the methods to the estimation
of mortality at ages 80+ in Finland in 1980-1993. We will first
consider the evidence for mortality crossover between males and
females....Then we will estimate life expectancies at age
100."
Correspondence: J. M. Alho, University of
Joensuu, Department of Statistics, P.O. Box 111, 80101 Joensuu,
Finland. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40146 Donaldson, G. C.; Keatinge, W.
R. Mortality related to cold weather in elderly people in
southeast England, 1979-94. British Medical Journal, Vol. 315, No.
7115, Oct 25, 1997. 1,055-6 pp. London, England. In Eng.
Mortality
in southeast England among those aged 65-74 is analyzed.
"Substantial declines in excess winter mortality from all causes,
ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, and respiratory
diseases from 1977 to 1994 were not due to fewer deaths from influenza.
They can be attributed in part to improvement in non-seasonal
background factors such as general medical care and diet, since
baseline death rates also fell. Assuming that such background factors
affected baseline mortality and mortality related to cold
proportionately, about half of the decline in excess winter mortality
can be explained by such non-seasonal factors. The rest can most easily
be attributed to improvements in home heating and to factors such as
greater car ownership, which reduce outdoor exposure to
cold."
Correspondence: W. R. Keatinge, Queen Mary and
Westfield College, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, England. E-mail:
w.r.keatinge@qmw.ac.uk. Location: Princeton University Library
(SZ).
63:40147 Gènova Maleras,
Ricard. Youth mortality in the community of Madrid.
[La mortalidad juvenil en la comunidad de Madrid.] Boletín de la
Asociación de Demografía Histórica, Vol. 14, No.
2, 1996. 115-49 pp. Alicante, Spain. In Spa. with sum. in Eng; Fre.
"The mortality of the Autonomous Community of Madrid has
remarkably improved [in] the last decades. However, the evolution of
the young ages (15-39) is radically opposed to this general trend,
getting worse during the 80s and 90s. Young mortality is at the present
the main problem of public health in Madrid, both by its resistance to
change and by the great number of potential years of life lost and
[the] socioeconomic implications. In this paper we identify the three
main causes of death: accidents, AIDS and drugs; we comment [on] some
methodological problems for their study and we analyze their evolution
by age and sex."
Correspondence: R. Gènova
Maleras, Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Madrid, Spain. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40148 Lyra, Sylvia M. K.; Goldberg, Tamara;
Iyda, Massako. Adolescent mortality in an urban area of
Southeastern Brazil, 1984-1993. [Mortalidade de adolescentes em
área urbana da região Sudeste do Brasil, 1984-1993.]
Revista de Saúde Pública/Journal of Public Health, Vol.
30, No. 6, 1996. 587-91 pp. São Paulo, Brazil. In Spa. with sum.
in Eng.
"Mortality among adolescents resident in the municipal
district of Botucatu, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, according to age
group (10 to 14 and 15 to 19 years), sex, occupation and cause of
death, during the period from 1984 to 1993, was analysed. The mortality
data were obtained from death certificates and the population estimates
were based upon census figures....There was predominance of external
causes of mortality which suggests the need for further studies [on
their] determining factors. The data indicate that health programs
targeted at [reaching] adolescents, their families and community should
be developed since these are avoidable causes of
death."
Correspondence: M. Iyda, Universidade Estadual
Paulista, Departamento de Saúde Pública, Caixa Postal
549, 18618-970 Botucatu, SP, Brazil. E-mail: miyda@fmbunesp.br.
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.
63:40149 Cohen-Feldmann, Carole.
Complete life tables of Israel, 1990-1994. Current Briefings
in Statistics, No. 29, 1996. xi, 18 pp. Central Bureau of Statistics:
Jerusalem, Israel. In Eng; Heb.
"This publication presents
complete life tables for 1990-1994. In the tables data are detailed by
single ages, for males and females separately. The data are presented
for the entire population and for Jews and Arabs and others
separately."
Correspondence: Central Bureau of
Statistics, Hakirya Romema, P.O. Box 13015, Jerusalem 91130, Israel.
E-mail: cbs@cbs.gov.il. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40150 Halingali, B. I.; Halli, S.
S. A generalized method for constructing an abridged life
table. In: 1996 Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section.
1996. 92-6 pp. American Statistical Association [ASA]: Alexandria,
Virginia. In Eng.
"In this paper an attempt is made to
estimate the death probability functions using the generalized power
series. The method is applied to construct a life table for the United
States. In order to compare this methodology with the other most
frequently used short-cut procedures, mortality rates are derived for
the United States by the four other methods. A comparison shows that
the other methods are all particular cases of the method proposed
here."
Correspondence: S. S. Halli, University of
Manitoba, Department of Sociology, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40151 Italy. Istituto Nazionale di
Statistica [ISTAT]. Sistema Statistico Nazionale (Rome,
Italy). Life tables for the Italian population by region,
1989-1993. [Tavole di mortalità della popolazione per
regione, 1989-93.] Informazioni, No. 8, 1996. 54 pp. Rome, Italy. In
Ita.
This monograph presents regional life tables by sex for the
period 1989-1993. The tables are calculated using data from the 1991
census of Italy. Two diskettes are included, one containing the
software SCAI (Sistema di Consultazione Archivi Istat) and one
containing the statistical tables.
Correspondence: Istituto
Nazionale di Statistica, Via Cesare Balbo 11a, 00184 Rome, Italy.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40152 United Kingdom. Office for National
Statistics (London, England). English life tables No.
15. Series DS, No. 14, ISBN 0-11-620925-9. 1997. vi, 20 pp.
London, England. In Eng.
These life tables for England and Wales
are based on mid-year estimates for the years 1990, 1991, and 1992 and
are presented separately by sex. Details of the methodology used to
prepare them are included.
Correspondence: Office for
National Statistics, Publications Centre, P.O. Box 276, London SW8 5DT,
England. 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.
63:40153 Davey Smith, George; Hart, Carole;
Ferrell, Catherine; Upton, Mark; Hole, David; Hawthorne, Victor; Watt,
Graham. Birth weight of offspring and mortality in the
Renfrew and Paisley study: prospective observational study.
British Medical Journal, Vol. 315, No. 7117, Nov 8, 1997. 1,189-93 pp.
London, England. In Eng.
The association between birthweight of
offspring and mortality among fathers and mothers is analyzed using
data on 794 married couples living in the Renfrew district of western
Scotland who were followed over a 15-year period from the early 1970s
onward. The results indicate that "birth weight of offspring was
related inversely to mortality, from all causes and cardiovascular
disease, in this cohort. The strength of this association was greater
than would have been expected by the degree of concordance of birth
weights across generations, but an extensive range of potential
confounding factors could not account for the association. Mortality is
therefore influenced by a factor related to birth weight that is
transmissible across generations."
Correspondence: G.
Davey Smith, University of Bristol, Department of Social Medicine,
Canynge Hall, Bristol BS8 2PR, England. E-mail: zetkin@bristol.ac.uk.
Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
63:40154 Diderichsen, Finn; Hallqvist,
Johan. Trends in occupational mortality among middle-aged
men in Sweden 1961-1990. International Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol. 26, No. 4, Aug 1997. 782-7 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"This study describes trends, 1961-1990, in total and
cardiovascular mortality among men, 45-69 years of age, in major
occupational classes in Sweden....The increase in mortality among
middle-aged men in Sweden 1965-1980 was mainly a result of increasing
cardiovascular mortality among industrial workers and farmers. In the
1980s the trend for these groups changed into a fast decrease in
mortality similar to that for non-manual occupations for the whole
period....While Sweden, during the period studied, had narrowing income
differentials and low unemployment this result points to the importance
of working conditions in understanding trends and distribution of male
adult mortality."
Correspondence: F. Diderichsen,
Karolinska Institute, Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of
Social Medicine, 172 83 Sundbyberg, Sweden. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40155 Doblhammer-Reiter, Gabriele.
Social inequalities in death: on the extent of socioeconomic
differences in mortality in Austria. [Soziale Ungleichheit vor dem
Tod: zum Ausmaß sozioökonomischer Unterschiede der
Sterblichkeit in Österreich.] Demographische Informationen,
1995-1996. 71-81, 162-3 pp. Vienna, Austria. In Ger. with sum. in Eng.
"This paper presents selected results from the analysis of
socioeconomic differentials in the mortality of the adult Austrian
population....Results suggest that mortality increases with decreasing
educational attainment levels. Differential mortality is highest in the
age interval of 35 to 49 years....Educational differences are higher in
non-elderly men than in non-elderly women....Educational differentials
are found both with respect to total mortality and specific causes of
death....Differences in mortality are also found between occupational
groups, according to family status or motherhood in the case of women.
In this paper, special attention has been given to non-linearities in
the mortality of socioeconomic and socio-demographic
groups."
Correspondence: G. Doblhammer-Reiter,
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für
Demographie, Hintere Zollamtsstraße 2b, 1033 Vienna, Austria.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40156 Dzúrová, Dagmar;
Jelínková, Jitka. Quality of atmosphere and
mortality level: selected towns of the Czech Republic, daily values,
1992. [Kvalita ovzdusí a úroven úmrtnosti:
vybraná mesta Ceské Republiky, denní hodnoty za
rok 1992.] Demografie, Vol. 39, No. 2, 1997. 81-93 pp. Prague, Czech
Republic. In Cze. with sum. in Eng.
"The study issued from
four indicators of the state of atmosphere (average daily
concentrations of sulphurous and nitrogen oxides, dusty aerosol,
average daily temperature) and numbers of deaths per day classified by
living place, sex and age of deceased persons [after] elimination of
death due to [other] causes and accidents....[The] study results
acknowledge the assumption that pollution of the atmosphere is not the
decisive cause of higher intensity of mortality."
Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40157 Ecob, Russell; Robertson, Chris;
Watt, Graham. Has regional variation in mortality rates
declined since 1931, and in all age groups, in Britain? A re-analysis
using formal statistical modelling. Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health, Vol. 51, No. 5, Oct 1997. 502-9 pp. London, England.
In Eng.
The authors "examine changes in regional variance in
all cause mortality rates in Great Britain from 1931-91 using formal
statistical modelling procedures, and...follow up the suggestion by
Illsley and Le Grand that there has been a reduction over time in the
regional variance in younger but not older age groups....While there
was some evidence of a decline and levelling off of the regional
variance over time in older age groups (over 35), the decline in
younger age groups was more marked. This broadly confirms previous
findings....In the younger (but not older) groups there was evidence of
a rise in the regional variance between 1981 and
1991."
Correspondence: R. Ecob, University of Glasgow,
MRC Medical Sociology Unit, 6 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ,
Scotland. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40158 Fang, Jing; Madhavan, Shantha;
Alderman, Michael H. Nativity, race, and mortality:
favorable impact of birth outside the United States on mortality in New
York City. Human Biology, Vol. 69, No. 5, Oct 1997. 689-701 pp.
Detroit, Michigan. In Eng.
"To determine the association of
birthplace (U.S.-born vs. foreign-born) with mortality among blacks and
whites in New York City, we examined death records for 5 years from
1988 to 1992 and the 1990 census data. Mortality rates by race and
birthplace were compared for all causes of death and for specific
causes. Although overall death rates for blacks generally exceeded
those for whites,...foreign-born blacks had death rates...slightly
lower than those for whites....U.S.-born black males were three times
as likely...and U.S.-born black females were more than 2.5 times as
likely...to die as were foreign-born blacks....Excess mortality of
blacks is largely explained by higher death rates of U.S.-born compared
with foreign-born Americans."
Correspondence: J. Fang,
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and
Social Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40159 Joung, Inez M. A.; Glerum, Jacobus
J.; Van Poppel, Frans W. A.; Kardaun, Jan W. P. F.; Mackenbach, Johan
P. The contribution of specific causes of death to
mortality differences by marital status in the Netherlands.
European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 6, No. 2, Jun 1996. 142-9 pp.
Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The purpose of this study was to
describe the differences in mortality by marital status in the
Netherlands in the period 1986-1990 for specific causes of death and to
estimate the contribution of each specific cause to the differences in
total mortality. We have used mortality and population data from
Statistics Netherlands....Since the causes of death that contributed
disproportionately to the excess mortality of the unmarried almost all
have unhealthy lifestyles as important risk factors, we argue that the
majority of the mortality differences by marital status can be
explained by social causation (marital status affects health through
lifestyle differences)."
Correspondence: I. M. A.
Joung, Erasmus University, Department of Public Health, P.O. Box 1738,
3000 DR Rotterdam, Netherlands. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:40160 Keatinge, W. R.; Donaldson, G.
C. Cold exposure and winter mortality from ishaemic heart
disease, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, and all causes
in warm and cold regions of Europe. Lancet, Vol. 349, No. 9062,
May 10, 1997. 1,341-6 pp. London, England. In Eng.
This report,
authored by the Eurowinter Group, for which Keatinge and Donaldson
acted as coordinators, examines differences in mortality from various
causes related to cold weather conditions among regions in Europe. The
results indicate that "mortality increased to a greater extent
with given fall of temperature in regions with warm winters, in
populations with cooler homes, and among people who wore fewer clothes
and were less active outdoors."
Correspondence: W. R.
Keatinge, Queen Mary and Westfield College, Department of Physiology,
London E1 4NS, England. Location: Princeton University Library
(SZ).
63:40161 Keller, Donald M.; Peterson, Eric A.;
Silberman, George. Survival rates for four forms of cancer
in the United States and Ontario. American Journal of Public
Health, Vol. 87, No. 7, Jul 1997. 1,164-7 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"In this study, cancer survival rates for patients diagnosed
in Ontario and selected areas within the United States were compared.
Relative survival rates were computed for patients aged 15 through 84
years diagnosed with any of four forms of cancer (breast, colon, lung,
and Hodgkin's disease). The cohorts represented those diagnosed over
the years 1978 through 1986 in the Canadian province of Ontario and in
nine regions covered by the U.S. National Cancer Institute's
Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program. Patients were
followed through the end of 1990. The cumulative relative survival
rates were similar for American and Canadian patients. The largest
difference was observed for breast cancer, where patients in the United
States enjoyed a survival advantage throughout the follow-up
period." Possible reasons for the observed differences in survival
from breast cancer, such as the greater use of mammographic screening
in the United States, are discussed.
Correspondence: D. M.
Keller, U.S. General Accounting Office, HEHS/HSQ&PH, 441 G Street
NW, Room 4083, Washington, D.C. 20548. Location: Princeton
University Library (SZ).
63:40162 Klasen, Stephan.
Marriage, bargaining, and intrahousehold resource allocation:
excess female mortality among adults during early German development
(1740-1860). Cambridge Group for the History of Population and
Social Structure Working Paper Series, No. 5, 1997. 74 pp. Cambridge
Group for the History of Population and Social Structure: Cambridge,
England. In Eng.
"To determine whether sex bias in the
allocation of household resources is unique to today's developing
world, this paper investigates sex-specific mortality rates in 18th and
19th century Germany. Using a...sample of recently assembled village
genealogies, the analysis shows that there was considerable excess
female mortality (EFM) among married adults which peaked in the late
18th and early 19th centuries. This female survival disadvantage is
evaluated by introducing and testing a bargaining model to
intrahousehold resource allocation. The empirical section applies and
confirms the bargaining approach and finds that EFM is related to the
woman's position in the remarriage market and the perceived relative
value of her work, as well as to differences in each parent's intensity
of altruism vis-à-vis their children. Agricultural change, which
brought about a relative devaluation of women's work, appears to be one
of the factors accounting for the rise in EFM in late 18th and early
19th century Germany."
Correspondence: Cambridge Group
for the History of Population and Social Structure, 27 Trumpington
Street, Cambridge CB1 1QA, England. E-mail: campop@lists.cam.ac.uk.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40163 LeClere, Felicia B.; Rogers, Richard
G.; Peters, Kimberley D. Ethnicity and mortality in the
United States: individual and community correlates. Social Forces,
Vol. 76, No. 1, Sep 1997. 169-98 pp. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In
Eng.
"Ethnic gaps in mortality persist in the United States
but the specific causes remain elusive. We propose a broader mortality
framework that includes neighborhood characteristics....The
concentration of African Americans in the neighborhood of residence, in
addition to individual socioeconomic status, fully account for
differential mortality between African American and non-Hispanic white
men and women. For Mexican Americans, the concentration of Hispanics in
the neighborhood slightly enhances their significant mortality
advantage. From additional analyses, it appears that the pathway
between residential segregation and mortality is routed through poorer
neighborhood economic conditions for men and high levels of female
headship in segregated neighborhoods for
women."
Correspondence: F. LeClere, University of
Notre Dame, Laboratory for Social Research, G126 Hesburgh Library,
South Bend, IN 46556. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40164 Nault, François.
Narrowing mortality gaps, 1978 to 1995. [Diminution des
écarts de mortalité, de 1978 à 1995.] Health
Reports/Rapports sur la Santé, Vol. 9, No. 1, Summer 1997.
35-41; 37-43 pp. Ottawa, Canada. In Eng; Fre.
"This article
examines the narrowing difference in life expectancy between men and
women and among Canadian provincial populations in the context of
trends in several major causes of death and risk factors....Narrowing
differences in life expectancy...have coincided with similar trends in
several cause-specific age-standardized death rates and a number of
behavioural risk factors."
Correspondence: F. Nault,
Statistics Canada, Division of Health Statistics, Ottawa, Ontario K1A
0T6, Canada. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40165 Rahman, M. Omar. The
effect of spouses on the mortality of older people in rural
Bangladesh. Health Transition Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, Apr 1997.
1-12 pp. Canberra, Australia. In Eng.
"This paper uses
prospective data to show that older widowed and divorced individuals in
rural Bangladesh have significantly higher mortality than their
currently married peers. In contrast to Western societies however,
women suffer more from widowhood (in terms of decreased survival) than
men. This disparity can plausibly be attributed to the greater poverty
associated with widowhood for women than for men. However the effect of
adverse selection into widowhood on the basis of poor health for both
men and women cannot be ruled out nor can the effects of adverse
changes in lifestyle."
Correspondence: M. O. Rahman,
Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Population and
International Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40166 Robles, Arodys. Adult
mortality among indigenous and non-indigenous populations of Guatemala
and Bolivia. [Mortalidad adulta entre poblaciones indígenas
y no indígenas de Guatemala y Bolivia.] Notas de
Población, Vol. 24, No. 64, Dec 1996. 33-61 pp. Santiago, Chile.
In Spa. with sum. in Eng.
"Use of the maternal orphanhood
method permits comparison of adult female mortality levels between
indigenous and non-indigenous population [in Guatemala and
Bolivia]....Results show that in both countries adult female mortality
is higher for the indigenous population. Comparison with infant
mortality levels reveals differences in the mortality patterns between
the two ethnic groups. In Guatemala--where estimates are more
consistent--comparisons across time reveal a more rapid descent for
infant than for adult mortality. As a consequence, differences in
levels of adult mortality between indigenous and non-indigenous
populations are higher than differences in infant mortality. In Bolivia
estimates are not as consistent as in Guatemala."
This paper
was originally presented at the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Population
Association of America.
Correspondence: A. Robles,
Princeton University, Office of Population Research, 21 Prospect
Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08544-2091. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:40167 Sánchez Aguilera,
Dolores. Territorial differences in mortality in Andalusia
at the end of the nineteenth century. [Las diferencias
territoriales de la mortalidad en Andalucía a fines del siglo
XIX.] Boletín de la Asociación de Demografía
Histórica, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1996. 151-71 pp. Alicante, Spain. In
Spa. with sum. in Eng; Fre.
"This paper concerns the
territorial differences between the mortality rates in Andalusia
[Spain] during the last decades of the nineteenth century....[It
analyzes] interprovincial differences...and the inequalities between
urban areas and rural areas. The comparative study of the mortality
conditions shows the contrasts between the oriental and the occidental
provinces and the high mortality [in] the cities. The analysis of the
age and sex structure of...mortality reveals...infant and child
mortality as determining elements [in] this Mediterranean
region."
Correspondence: D. Sánchez Aguilera,
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Departament de Geografía
Físca i Anàlisi Geogràfica Regional, 08193
Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:40168 Scholz, Rembrandt D.
Analysis and prognosis of mortality trends in the old and new
German states: results of the comparison of cohort mortality in East
and West Germany. [Analyse und Prognose der
Mortalitätsentwickung in den alten und neuen
Bundesländern--Ergebnisse des Ost/West-Vergleiches der
Kohortensterblichkeit.] In: Sterblichkeitsentwicklung--unter besonderer
Berücksichtigung des Kohortenansatzes, edited by Reiner H. Dinkel,
Charlotte Höhn, and Rembrandt D. Scholz. 1996. 89-102 pp. R.
Oldenbourg Verlag: Munich, Germany; Bundesinstitut für
Bevölkerungsforschung: Wiesbaden, Germany. In Ger.
The
differences in cohort mortality in the former East and West Germany are
examined, combining life-table approaches for analyzing past data with
a methodology for predicting future mortality.
Correspondence:
R. D. Scholz, Humboldt-Universität, 10099 Berlin, Germany.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40169 Smith, Mark H.; Anderson, Roger T.;
Bradham, Douglas D.; Longino, Charles F. Rural and urban
differences in mortality among Americans 55 years and older: analysis
of the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Journal of Rural
Health, Vol. 11, No. 4, Fall 1995. 274-85 pp. Kansas City, Missouri. In
Eng.
"Previous research on rural and urban differences in risk
of mortality in the [United States] has been inconclusive. This article
used data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study to establish
whether all-cause mortality risk among persons 55 years and older
varies by degree of urbanization, controlling for the potential
sociodemographic confounders of age, gender, race/ethnicity, education,
income, and marital status. Using the Cox Proportional Hazards
Regression Procedure, the authors found that persons living in the most
rural locales and those living in rural communities in standard
metropolitan statistical areas (SMSAs) have the lowest risk of
mortality, while those living in SMSA central cities had the highest
risk of dying during the study period. The protective effect of rural
residence declines in older age cohorts."
Correspondence:
M. H. Smith, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Department of Public
Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40170 Strawbridge, William J.; Cohen,
Richard D.; Shema, Sarah J.; Kaplan, George A. Frequent
attendance at religious services and mortality over 28 years.
American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 87, No. 6, Jun 1997. 957-61 pp.
Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This study analyzed the long-term
association between religious attendance and mortality [in the United
States] to determine whether the association is explained by
improvements in health practices and social connections for frequent
attenders....Frequent attenders had lower mortality rates than
infrequent attenders....Results were stronger for females. Health
adjustments had little impact, but adjustments for social connections
and health practices reduced the relationship....Frequent attenders
were more likely to stop smoking, increase exercising, increase social
contacts, and stay married."
Correspondence: W. J.
Strawbridge, Human Population Laboratory, 2151 Berkeley Way, Annex 2,
Suite 300, Berkeley, CA 94704-1011. Location: Princeton
University Library (SZ).
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.
63:40171 Ballester, Ferran; Corella, Dolors;
Pérez-Hoyos, Santiago; Hervás, Anna. Air
pollution and mortality in Valencia, Spain: a study using the APHEA
methodology. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol.
50, No. 5, Oct 1996. 527-33 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The
authors "assess the short term relationship between daily air
pollution indicators (black smoke and sulphur dioxide)...and mortality
in Valencia [Spain]....Daily variations in four selected outcome
variables (total mortality, mortality in those over 70 years of age,
and cardiovascular and respiratory mortality) were considered in
relation to daily variations in air pollution levels for the period
1991-93....A positive relationship between air pollution and mortality
was found in the short term....Although the current levels of
particulate air pollution in Valencia are not very high, they could
have an effect on the number of premature
deaths."
Correspondence: F. Ballester, Institut
Valencià d'Estudis en Salut Pública, Department of
Epidemiology and Statistics, C/Joan de Garay 23, 46017 Valencia, Spain.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40172 Barona, J. L.; Barea, Elena.
Illness and death in the city of Valencia (1901-1920).
[Enfermedad y muerte en la ciudad de Valencia (1901-1920).]
Boletín de la Asociación de Demografía
Histórica, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1996. 57-82 pp. Alicante, Spain. In
Spa. with sum. in Eng; Fre.
"The present work analyses the
origins of demographic and sanitary statistics in the city of Valencia
(Spain) through the medical journals at the end of the 19th century and
two specific publications: the Boletín Sanitario Municipal
(1905-1913) and the Boletín de la Estadística Municipal
de Valencia (1915-1920)....The diagnostic categories of death causes
are analysed and a study of urban mortality during the period 1901-1920
is proposed, in which specific mortality [by] age, cause and sex is
discussed."
Correspondence: J. L. Barona, Universitat
de València, Departament d'Història de la Ciència
i Documentació, Nave 2, 46003 Valencia, Spain. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40173 Carey, Arlen D.
Modernization's effects on the mortality costs of
reproduction. Mankind Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 4, Summer 1997.
343-72 pp. Washington, D. C. In Eng.
"This paper utilizes a
unique data set to investigate more fully modernization's
transformation of sex mortality differentials and, in particular, the
role played by the mortality costs of reproduction. These data pertain
to the Mexican American population of Bexar County (San Antonio),
Texas, over a 51-year period, 1935 through 1985....The paper
[discusses] several previous demographic analyses of the mortality
costs of reproduction and the impact of these costs on sex mortality
differentials. The structure of the present empirical analysis is then
outlined, followed by a presentation of results. The paper concludes
with a two-part discussion of the results."
Correspondence:
A. D. Carey, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32611.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40174 Chenet, Laurent; McKee, Martin;
Otero, Angel; Ausin, Inma. What happed to life expectancy
in Spain in the 1980s? Journal of Epidemiology and Community
Health, Vol. 51, No. 5, Oct 1997. 510-4 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The authors aim to "determine the causes of death that have
been responsible for the failure by Spain to maintain in the 1980s and
1990s the rate of improvement in life expectancy seen during the
1970s....The trend in life expectancy at birth in Spain over this 20
year period can be considered to have two components, both with
important consequences for public health policy. Underlying trends
include a steady negative contribution from respiratory cancer in men
and a reduction in cardiovascular disease. More recent trends include a
considerable deterioration in deaths among young adults, most notably
from accidents and, possibly, AIDS."
Correspondence:
M. McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, European
Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, Keppel Street, London WC1E
7HT, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40175 Conti, Susanna; Masocco, Maria;
Farchi, Gino; Rezza, Giovanni; Toccaceli, Virgilia.
Premature mortality in Italy during the first decade of the AIDS
epidemic: 1984-1993. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol.
26, No. 4, Aug 1997. 873-9 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"AIDS
has become a leading cause of premature mortality in many countries,
owing to the decline in other major causes of premature death and the
increase in AIDS itself. This study was carried out to determine the
trend in premature mortality due to selected causes in Italy....In this
period there has been a marked increase in premature mortality from
AIDS both among males aged 1-69 years...and females of the same age
group....Throughout the same period all the other causes of premature
death have been declining, with the exception of suicide and overdose
among males, and overdose and lung cancer among females. For people
aged 25-44 years, AIDS has become the greatest cause of premature
death. The increasing trend in premature mortality due to AIDS is most
pronounced in the northern and central areas of
Italy."
Correspondence: S. Conti, Istituto Superiore
di Sanità, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, V.
Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:40176 Cummings, Peter; Grossman, David C.;
Rivara, Frederick P.; Koepsell, Thomas D. State gun safe
storage laws and child mortality due to firearms. JAMA: Journal of
the American Medical Association, Vol. 278, No. 13, Oct 1, 1997.
1,084-6 pp. Chicago, Illinois. In Eng.
This study examines whether
state laws in the United States that require the safe storage of
firearms are associated with a reduction in child mortality due to
firearms. "Laws that make gun owners responsible for storing
firearms in a manner that makes them inaccessible to children were in
effect for at least 1 year in 12 states from 1990 through 1994. Among
children younger than 15 years, unintentional shooting deaths were
reduced by 23%...during the years covered by these laws. This estimate
was based on within-state comparisons adjusted for national trends in
unintentional firearm-related mortality. Gun-related homicide and
suicide showed modest declines, but these were not statistically
significant."
Correspondence: P. Cummings, University
of Washington, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, Box
359960, 325 Ninth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104-2499. E-mail:
peterc@u.washington.edu. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
63:40177 Cummings, Peter; Koepsell, Thomas D.;
Grossman, David C.; Savarino, James; Thompson, Robert S.
The association between the purchase of a handgun and homicide or
suicide. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 87, No. 6, Jun
1997. 974-8 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"The purpose of this
study was to determine whether purchase of a handgun from a licensed
dealer [in the United States] is associated with the risk of homicide
or suicide and whether any association varies in relation to time since
purchase....The adjusted relative risk for suicide was 1.9...for
persons with a history of family handgun purchase from a registered
dealer. The adjusted relative risk for homicide, given a history of
family handgun purchase, was 2.2....For both suicide and homicide, the
elevated relative risk persisted for more than 5 years after the
purchase. Legal purchase of a handgun appears to be associated with a
long-lasting increased risk of violent
death."
Correspondence: P. Cummings, Harborview Injury
Prevention and Research Center, Box 35996, 325 Ninth Avenue, Seattle,
WA 98104-2499. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
63:40178 Danel, Isabella; Grummer-Strawn,
Lawrence; Caceres, José M.; Stupp, Paul. Maternal
mortality and morbidity in El Salvador. In: Demographic diversity
and change in the Central American Isthmus, edited by Anne R. Pebley
and Luis Rosero-Bixby. 1997. 213-35 pp. RAND: Santa Monica, California.
In Eng.
An analysis of maternal morbidity and mortality in El
Salvador is presented using data from a 1993 survey of 6,207 women of
reproductive age. The level of maternal mortality recorded was 158 per
100,000 births, which compares with official estimates for 1988 of 47
per 100,000. Major differences in the use of health services by such
factors as area of residence and educational status are
noted.
Correspondence: I. Danel, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health, Women's Health
and Fertility Branch, MS K-34, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA
30341-3724. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40179 Dollimore, Nicola; Cutts, Felicity;
Binka, Fred N.; Ross, David A.; Morris, Saul S.; Smith, Peter
G. Measles incidence, case fatality, and delayed mortality
in children with or without vitamin A supplementation in rural
Ghana. American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 146, No. 8, Oct 15,
1997. 646-54 pp. Baltimore, Maryland. In Eng.
"Data on measles
incidence, acute case fatality, and delayed mortality were collected on
25,443 children aged 0-95 months during the course of a
community-based, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of
vitamin A supplementation in rural, northern Ghana between 1989 and
1991. Measles vaccine coverage in these children was 48%. The overall
estimated measles incidence rate was 24.3 per 1,000 child-years, and
acute case fatality was 15.7%. There was not significantly increased
mortality in survivors of the acute phase of measles compared with
controls....Reported incidence rates and case fatality were higher in
families with low paternal education, in the dry season, and in
unvaccinated children, and case fatality was higher in malnourished
children. There was no sex difference in incidence, but acute case
fatality was somewhat higher in girls than boys....Measles incidence
was lower in vitamin A-supplemented groups (23.6 per 1,000 child-years)
than in placebo groups (28.9 per 1,000 child-years), but this
difference was not statistically
significant...."
Correspondence: F. Cutts, London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 99 Gower Street, London WC1E
6AZ, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SZ).
63:40180 Ebrahim, Shahul H.; Peterman, Thomas
A.; Zaidi, Akbar A.; Kamb, Mary L. Mortality related to
sexually transmitted diseases in U.S. women, 1973 through 1992.
American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 87, No. 6, Jun 1997. 938-44 pp.
Washington, D.C. In Eng.
"This study estimated the trends in
mortality related to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their
sequelae in U.S. women from 1973 through 1992....From 1973 through
1984, total STD-related deaths decreased 24% However, from 1985 through
1992, STD-related deaths increased by 31%, primarily because of
increasing numbers of deaths from sexually transmitted human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The most important changes
during the 20-year period were the emergence of and continued increase
in the number of deaths related to heterosexually transmitted
HIV."
Correspondence: S. H. Ebrahim, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, Mail Stop F15, 1600 Clifton Road,
Atlanta, GA 30333. Location: Princeton University Library
(SZ).
63:40181 Evstifeeva, Tatiana V.; MacFarlane,
Gary J.; Robertson, Chris. Trends in cancer mortality in
central European countries--the effect of age, birth cohort and
time-period. European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 7, No. 2, Jun
1997. 169-76 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"An analysis of
changes in mortality from major cancer sites and all cancer sites
combined in 6 central European countries, considered as a Western group
of countries (Germany--the former FRG, Switzerland and Austria) and an
Eastern group of countries (Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary) is
presented. Cancer mortality and population data have been obtained from
the World Health Organization Mortality Database and are available over
at least 20 years. They have been analysed using age-period-cohort
models and birth-cohort and time-period effects are presented
graphically....[The] results demonstrate the magnitude of the
increasing mortality from tobacco- and alcohol-related cancers in the
countries considered and emphasize the importance and potential of
public health measures in preventing such increases continuing in the
future."
Correspondence: T. V. Evstifeeva, University
of Manchester Dental School, Department of Oral Health and Development,
Coupland III Building, Higher Cambridge Street, Manchester M15 6FH,
England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40182 Garenne, Michel; Friedberg,
Fabrice. Accuracy of indirect estimates of maternal
mortality: a simulation model. Studies in Family Planning, Vol.
28, No. 2, Jun 1997. 132-42 pp. New York, New York. In Eng.
"A
simulation model was developed to test the accuracy of indirect
estimates of maternal mortality (the sisterhood method)....Empirical
values for the parameters of fertility and mortality were taken from a
prospective survey in Senegal (Niakhar). Results based on 100
simulations of the same situation revealed several limitations of the
sisterhood method: The indirect estimates could fall as far as 33
percent from the true values on individual cases; the indirect
estimates tended to be systematically higher than the direct estimates;
their range was wider, as were their confidence intervals; and biases
were particularly strong for the younger age groups of respondents.
Reasons for these biases are explored."
Correspondence:
M. Garenne, Centre Français sur la Population et le
Développement, 15 rue de l'Ecole de Médecine, 75270 Paris
Cedex 06, France. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40183 Gaudette, Leslie A.; Gao, Ru-Nie;
Wysocki, Marek; Nault, François. Update on breast
cancer mortality, 1995. [Le point sur la mortalité par
cancer du sein, 1995.] Health Reports/Rapports sur la Santé,
Vol. 9, No. 1, Summer 1997. 31-4; 33-6 pp. Ottawa, Canada. In Eng; Fre.
"This article updates recently published information on
Canadian breast cancer mortality, highlighting a lower rate in 1995, a
marked decline in the rate since 1990, and possible factors
contributing to this trend....Breast cancer mortality data are from the
Canadian Vital Statistics Data Base, maintained by Statistics
Canada....The average annual percent change in mortality rates by age
group and province was calculated and tested for statistical
significance."
Correspondence: L. A. Gaudette,
Statistics Canada, Division of Health Statistics, Ottawa, Ontario K1A
0T6, Canada. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40184 Graham, Wendy J.; Filippi,
Véronique G. A.; Ronsmans, Carine. Demonstrating
programme impact on maternal mortality. Health Policy and
Planning, Vol. 11, No. 1, Mar 1996. 16-20 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Reducing maternal mortality is one of the primary goals of
safe motherhood programmes in developing countries. Maternal mortality
is not, however, a feasible outcome indicator with which to judge the
success of these programmes....The objective of this paper is to
promote greater realism about the measurement-related constraints on
safe motherhood."
Correspondence: W. J. Graham,
Aberdeen University, Dugald Baird Centre for Research on Women's
Health, Forester Hill, Aberdeen AB9 22D, Scotland. Location:
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40185 Izazola-Licea, José A.;
Valdez-García, Maricruz; Sánchez-Pérez,
Héctor J.; del Río-Chiriboga, Carlos. AIDS
mortality in Mexico, 1983-1992: trends and years of potential life
lost. [La mortalidad por el SIDA en México de 1983 a 1992.
Tendencias y años perdidos de vida potencial.] Salud
Pública de México, Vol. 37, No. 2, Mar-Apr 1995. 140-8
pp. Morelos, Mexico. In Spa. with sum. in Eng.
The authors
"describe trends in AIDS mortality in Mexico from 1983 to 1992, as
well as years of potential life lost (YPLL) and years of potential
productive life lost (YPPLL) due to AIDS....A retrospective review of
databases available in Mexico that code mortality from AIDS was
performed....Through 1992, there have been 8,204 deaths attributable to
AIDS in Mexico (86% were men) with a rate of 2.9 deaths/100,000. In
1992 AIDS was the 19th leading cause of death in the
country....However, due to under-reporting, these estimates should be
considered conservative and as lower-bound
estimates."
Correspondence: J. A. Izazola-Licea,
Consejo Nacional de SIDA, Comercio y Administración 35, Colonia
Copilco Universidad, Mexico City 04360, DF, Mexico. Location:
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40186 Li, X. F.; Fortney, J. A.;
Kotelchuck, M.; Glover, L. H. The postpartum period: the
key to maternal mortality. International Journal of Gynecology and
Obstetrics, Vol. 54, No. 1, Jul 1996. 1-10 pp. Shannon, Ireland. In
Eng.
"To assess postpartum care at an international level, we
reviewed published literature on postpartum maternal
deaths....Postpartum deaths in developing countries were compared with
those in the United States....The first 24 [hours] postpartum and the
first postpartum week is the high risk of postpartum deaths, and the
risk remains significant until the second week after delivery. In
developing countries, hemorrhage, pregnancy-induced hypertension
complications, and obstetric infection are commonest causes of
postpartum deaths."
Correspondence: X. F. Li,
University of North Carolina, School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
27514. Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda,
MD.
63:40187 Li, Zhaochen; Morikawa, Yuko;
Nakagawa, Hideaki; Tabata, Masaji; Nishijo, Muneko; Semma, Masami;
Miura, Katsuyuki; Yoshita, Katsushi; Kawano, Shunichi; Chen,
Yude. Comparative study on mortality patterns in Japan and
China. In: Research papers on interrelationship between population
growth in developing countries and global environment, Volume II. Mar
3, 1997. 333-42 pp. National Institute of Population and Social
Security Research: Tokyo, Japan. In Eng.
"On the basis of the
1990 Chinese death notice data and 1990 Japanese...vital statistical
materials, the mortality patterns and proportions of individual causes
of death in the two countries were compared. In both sexes, the
mortality rates were the highest in almost all age groups in Chinese
rural areas followed by urban areas and Japan. In Japan and in Chinese
urban areas, malignant neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases and
cerebrovascular diseases were the major causes of death....[The]
differences in mortality rates and proportions of individual causes of
death...are thought to be attributable to the differences in medical
services and the level of risk factors for each
disease."
Correspondence: Y. Morikawa, Kanazawa
Medical University, Department of Public Health, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada,
Ishikawa 920-02, Japan. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:40188 McDonagh, Marilyn. Is
antenatal care effective in reducing maternal morbidity and
mortality? Health Policy and Planning, Vol. 11, No. 1, Mar 1996.
1-15 pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"Women in developing
countries are dying from simple preventable conditions but what impact
can the procedures collectively called antenatal care have in reducing
maternal mortality and morbidity?...This review found that questions
have been raised about the impact of antenatal care (specifically on
maternal mortality) since its inception in developed countries, and
that although the questions continue to be asked there is very little
research trying to find answers....This paper argues that there is
insufficient evidence to reach a firm decision about the effectiveness
of antenatal care, yet there is sufficient evidence to cast doubt on
the possible effect of antenatal care."
Correspondence:
M. McDonagh, Save the Children Fund, London, England.
Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40189 Messner, Torbjörn; Petersson,
Bo. Alcohol consumption and ischemic heart disease
mortality in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine, Vol.
24, No. 2, Jun 1996. 107-13 pp. Oslo, Norway. In Eng.
"We
carried out an ecological study in Sweden where cross-sectional,
longitudinal, and time series analyses (1973-1986) were performed on
consumption of spirits, wine, and beer in relation to age-standardized
mortality in IHD [ischemic heart disease] for males and females There
was a negative correlation in both cross-sectional and longitudinal
analyses between wine consumption and mortality from IHD, especially
strong for women, but no consistent relationship between the
consumption of total ethanol, spirits and beer versus the mortality
from IHD....We conclude that, on a population level, consumption of
spirits and beer in a Swedish drinking pattern does not imply any
protection against death from IHD. On the other hand, wine consumption
in Sweden could be associated with a reduced risk of IHD death among
women."
Correspondence: T. Messner, Kiruna District
Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, P.O. Box 805, 981 28 Kiruna,
Sweden. Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda,
MD.
63:40190 Nizard, Alfred. Cancer
mortality in France at the turn of the 1990s. [La mortalité
par tumeur en France au tournant des années quatre-vingt-dix.]
Population, Vol. 52, No. 3, May-Jun 1997. 665-97 pp. Paris, France. In
Fre.
The situation concerning mortality from cancer in France in
the late 1990s is described. Trends in causes of death by sex from 1950
to 1994 are outlined; the growing importance of cancer mortality for
both sexes is noted. The excess mortality of males, particularly among
the aged, is also discussed. Finally, mortality differentials by age
are analyzed.
Correspondence: A. Nizard, Institut National
d'Etudes Démographiques, 27 rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex
14, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40191 Ntozi, James P. M.; Lubaale, Yovani
M. A.; Nakanaabi, Immaculate M. AIDS mortality in Uganda:
circumstances, factors and impact of death. Health Transition
Review, Vol. 7, Suppl., 1997. 207-24 pp. Canberra, Australia. In Eng.
"HIV/AIDS is a serious problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The
disease affects the most sexually active adults of the population, who
belong to the most productive age groups, and some of whom are
breadwinners. The paper uses data from a baseline survey of six
districts of Uganda to study the circumstances, factors and impact of
death due to AIDS. While high proportions of patients of AIDS or
related diseases use health facilities, most deaths occur at home.
Deaths due to AIDS or related diseases are associated with sex, age,
marital status, type of marriage, education, occupation and ethnicity.
The worst effect of AIDS deaths on the household is lack of
finance."
Correspondence: J. P. M. Ntozi, Makerere
University, Department of Population Studies, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala,
Uganda. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40192 Nunn, Andrew J.; Mulder, Daan W.;
Kamali, Anatoli; Ruberantwari, Anthony; Kengeya-Kayondo, Jane-Frances;
Whitworth, Jimmy. Mortality associated with HIV-1
infection over five years in a rural Ugandan population: cohort
study. British Medical Journal, Vol. 315, No. 7111, Sep 27, 1997.
767-71 pp. London, England. In Eng.
The impact of HIV-1 on
mortality over a five-year period in a rural Ugandan population is
assessed using data on about 10,000 individuals living in 15 villages
who were enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study in 1989 or later. Over
this period, the rate of adult seroprevalence was about 8%.
"During 35,083 person years of follow up, 459 deaths occurred, 273
in seronegative subjects and 186 in seropositive subjects,
corresponding to standardised death rates of 8.1 and 129.3 per 1,000
person years." The results confirm that HIV infection is
associated with high death rates and a substantial reduction in life
expectancy.
For a related study, published in 1994, see 60:20180.
Correspondence: A. J. Nunn, University College London
Medical School, MRC HIV Clinical Trials Centre, London WC1E 6AU,
England. E-mail: ajn@mrc.ucl.ac.uk. Location: Princeton
University Library (SZ).
63:40193 Regidor, Enrique; Gutierrez Fisac, J.
L. Increase in the number of deaths from lung and breast
cancer between 1960 and 1985. [Incremento en el número de
muertes por cancer de pulmón y cancer de mama entre 1960 y
1985.] Revista de Sanidad e Higiene Pública, Vol. 65, No. 4,
Jul-Aug 1991. 309-17 pp. Madrid, Spain. In Spa. with sum. in Eng.
"[Spain] has seen an increase of 298% in...lung cancer
[deaths] among males and of 178% [in] breast cancer [deaths] among
females between 1960 and 1985....[We] distinguish, within these
increases, the effect produced by changes in the demographic structure
of the population from the effects owing to a real change in the risk
of death at different ages. Using this method of analysis, it has been
shown that the increased risk of death accounted for 3,433 deaths of
males among the 10,085 caused by lung cancer in 1985 and for 1,235 of
the 4,293 deaths of females caused by breast
cancer."
Correspondence: E. Regidor, Ministerio de
Sanidad y Consumo, Subdirección General de Información
Sanitaria y Epidemiología, Paseo del Prado, 18-20 Madrid, Spain.
Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40194 Rehm, Jürgen; Sempos,
Christopher T. Alcohol consumption and all-cause
mortality. Addiction, Vol. 90, No. 4, Apr 1995. 471-98 pp.
Abingdon, England. In Eng.
"Based on a large U.S.
representative cohort with detailed baseline interview and examination
data, the relationship between alcohol consumption and all-cause
mortality is examined over a period of 15 years follow-up. Results show
a significant linear relationship for females and males under 60 years
of age at baseline, and a non-significant U-shape for the older ones.
Both results remain stable for different kinds of adjustment including
adjustment for nutritional variables and smoking. Excluding people with
heart disease history at baseline leads to an even more pronounced
linear relationship for both males and females under 60 years of age.
Furthermore, it is shown that the curvilinear relationship for men
found in previous research is partly due to the age groups
examined." Comments are included by Peter Anderson (pp. 481-4),
John C. Duffy (484-5), Roberta Ferrence and Lynn T. Kozlowski (485-8),
A. G. Shaper (488-90), Ole-Jørgen Skog (490-2), and Maurizio
Trevisan (492-3); a reply by the authors (493-8) is also
provided.
Correspondence: J. Rehm, Addiction Research
Foundation, Social Evaluation and Research, 33 Russell Street, Toronto,
Ontario M5S 2S1, Canada. Location: U.S. National Library of
Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40195 Schneider, Dona; Greenberg, Michael
R.; Lu, Lisa L. Region of birth and mortality from
circulatory diseases among black Americans. American Journal of
Public Health, Vol. 87, No. 5, May 1997. 800-4 pp. Washington, D.C. In
Eng.
"This study examines the relationship between birthplace
and mortality from circulatory diseases among American
Blacks....Age-specific and age-adjusted mortality rates with 95%
confidence intervals were calculated for males and females for
combinations of five regions of residence at birth and four regions of
residence at death....Males had higher mortality rates from circulatory
diseases than females in every regional combination of birth place and
residence at death. For both genders, the highest rates were for those
who were born in the South but died in the Midwest; the lowest rates
were for those who were born in the West but died in the South. Excess
mortality for both Southern-born males and females begins at ages 25
through 44."
Correspondence: D. Schneider, 145
Shadybrook Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540. Location: Princeton
University Library (SZ).
63:40196 Thom, Thomas J.; Epstein, Frederick
H. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke mortality trends and
their interrelations: an international perspective. Circulation,
Vol. 90, No. 1, 1994. 574-82 pp. Dallas, Texas. In Eng.
"Age-adjusted death rates for total mortality and mortality
from heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and cancer other than lung
cancer were obtained for the years 1950 to 1987 in 27 countries by sex
and ages 35 to 74 years from the World Health Organization statistical
reports. Concordance of mortality trends was assessed for ages 35-74
between 1950 and 1983 through visual inspection and semi-quantitative
measurements of percentage change over time....Trends for mortality
from heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and, less distinctly, cancer
other than lung cancer, tend to be similar in different countries,
leading to a corresponding similarity in total mortality trends. An
analysis of trends for pairs of diseases within countries indicates a
tendency toward concordance of trends, suggesting the existence of
common causes amenable to the same preventive
measures."
Correspondence: T. J. Thom, National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute, Division of Epidemiology and Clinical
Application, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike,
Bethesda, MD 20892-0002. Location: U.S. National Library of
Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
63:40197 Torrents, Angels. The
epidemiologic transition in rural Catalonia: Sant Pere de Ruidebitlles,
1880-1935. [La transición epidemiológica en la
Cataluña rural: Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, 1880-1935.]
Boletín de la Asociación de Demografía
Histórica, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1996. 173-200 pp. Alicante, Spain. In
Spa. with sum. in Eng; Fre.
"This article examines the
mortality fall in rural Catalonia [Spain] during the epidemiologic
transition. The discussion focuses on an analysis of all causes of
death in Sant Pere de Riudebitlles Register Office, from 1880 to 1935,
the eve of the Civil War....The main causes of death [were] epidemic
and gastro-enteric diseases for children under five until the first
decades of the twentieth century; from then on, the main causes of
death [were] degenerative diseases affecting people over fifty years of
age, and in turn, life expectancy
increased."
Correspondence: A. Torrents, Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona, Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics,
08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
63:40198 United States. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC] (Atlanta, Georgia). Update:
trends in AIDS incidence--United States, 1996. Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 46, No. 37, Sep 19, 1997. 861-7 pp.
Atlanta, Georgia. In Eng.
"Provisional surveillance data about
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) for the first 6 months of
1996 indicated a decrease in deaths among persons with AIDS, attributed
primarily to the effect of antiretroviral therapies on the survival of
persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This report
describes a decline in AIDS incidence during 1996 compared with 1995
and the continued decline in AIDS deaths; the findings indicate that
HIV therapies are having a widespread beneficial impact on the rate of
HIV disease progression in the United
States."
Correspondence: CDC National AIDS
Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6003, Rockvile, MD 20849-6003. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:40199 Valdespino-Gómez, José
L.; García-García, M. de L.; del Río-Zolezzi,
Aurora; Loo-Méndez, Elia; Magis-Rodríguez, Carlos;
Salcedo-Alvarez, Rey A. Epidemiology of AIDS/HIV in
Mexico: from 1983 to March 1995. [Epidemiología del
SIDA/VIH en México; de 1983 a marzo de 1995.] Salud
Pública de México, Vol. 37, No. 6, Nov-Dec 1995. 556-71
pp. Morelos, Mexico. In Spa. with sum. in Eng.
"The purpose of
this study is to analyze the HIV/AIDS magnitude, distribution,
frequency, patterns, trends, risk factors, risk groups, estimation and
evaluation of interventions in Mexico during the last twelve
years....Epidemiological patterns of transmission are found primarily
among men with homosexual and bisexual practices. The male/female ratio
is 6 to 1. In 1992 AIDS was the 19th cause of death among the general
population....Evaluation of interventions has been accomplished by
demonstrating positive results in the prevention of blood transmission
and sexual transmission among female commercial sex workers; prevention
efforts directed to men with homosexual practices have not been
successful."
Correspondence: J. L.
Valdespino-Gómez, Instituto Naciónal de Salud
Pública, Secretaría Académica, Avenida Universidad
655, Colonia Santa María, Ahuacatitlán 62508, Cuernavaca,
Morelos, Mexico. Location: U.S. National Library of Medicine,
Bethesda, MD.
63:40200 Wenger, Nanette K.
Coronary heart disease: an older woman's major health risk.
British Medical Journal, Vol. 315, No. 7115, Oct 25, 1997. 1,085-90 pp.
London, England. In Eng.
The author notes that coronary heart
disease is the major cause of death in postmenopausal women in many
industrialized countries, and suggests it will become epidemic in
elderly women as the population ages, unless preventive methods are
taken across the lifespan. There are sections in the paper on coronary
risk factors and their modification in older women, and on sex
differences in the clinical characteristics of coronary heart
diseases.
Correspondence: N. K. Wenger, Emory University,
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Atlanta, GA 30303.
E-mail: nwenger@emory.edu. Location: Princeton University
Library (SZ).
63:40201 Wolleswinkel-van den Bosch, Judith
H.; Looman, Caspar W. N.; van Poppel, Frans W. A.; Mackenbach, Johan
P. Cause-specific mortality trends in the Netherlands,
1875-1992: a formal analysis of the epidemiologic transition.
International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 26, No. 4, Aug 1997. 772-81
pp. Oxford, England. In Eng.
"The objective of this study is
to produce a detailed yet robust description of the epidemiologic
transition in The Netherlands....National mortality data on sex, age,
cause of death and calendar year (1875-1992) were extracted from
official publications. For the entire period, 27 causes of death could
be distinguished....Three important clusters were found: (1) infectious
diseases which declined rapidly in the late 19th century (e.g. typhoid
fever), (2) infectious diseases which showed a less precipitous decline
(e.g. respiratory tuberculosis), and (3) non-infectious diseases which
showed an increasing trend during most of the period 1875-1992 (e.g.
cancer)....The results suggest that the conventional interpretation of
the epidemiologic transition, which assumes a uniform decline of
infectious diseases and a uniform increase of non-infectious diseases,
needs to be modified."
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).
63:40202 Xu, Xiping; Gao, Jun; Dockery,
Douglas W.; Chen, Yude. Air pollution and daily mortality
in residential areas of Beijing, China. In: Research papers on
interrelationship between population growth in developing countries and
global environment, Volume II. Mar 3, 1997. 321-31 pp. National
Institute of Population and Social Security Research: Tokyo, Japan. In
Eng.
"The relationship between air pollution and daily
mortality in 1989 was examined in two residential areas in Beijing,
China...A highly significant association was found between [sulfur
dioxide] and daily mortality....The association of [total suspended
particulates] with total daily mortality was positive but not
significant....In the cause-specific analysis, the strongest effects on
mortality were consistently seen for respiratory diseases in both
[summer and winter]."
Correspondence: Y. Chen,
Ministry of Health, Center for Health Statistics Information, 1-2-2
Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-45, Japan. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
