Articles: mortality.
-
To determine the independent effects of maternal age and race/ethnicity on poor pregnancy outcomes, with and without controlling for other factors. ⋯ Maternal age at delivery and race/ethnicity are independently and significantly associated with poor pregnancy outcomes such as low birthweight and premature births. However, young maternal age and race/ethnicity do not appear to interact in a manner that produces a differential effect on the birth outcomes assessed in this study. The incidence of infant mortality is unrelated to maternal age or race/ethnicity, after controlling for prematurity and low birthweight, underscoring the importance of intervention efforts aimed at their prevention.
-
To identify the predictors of mortality due to acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI). ⋯ Even in settings of high case fatality, predictors of mortality can be identified in under five children suffering from ALRI. In this context, age below 1 year, inability to feed, presence of loose stools and severe malnutrition merit attention for interventional purposes.
-
J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Feb 1997
Birth cohort and calendar period trends in breast cancer mortality in the United States and Canada.
Previous studies of regional and temporal variation in U.S. breast cancer mortality rates have been confined largely to analyses of rates for white women. ⋯ Widespread environmental exposures are unlikely to explain the higher relative breast cancer mortality rates observed for U.S. white women in the Northeast, since the rates for black women in this region were not higher than in other regions. The moderation of breast cancer mortality rates for women born between 1924 and 1938 coincides with increased fertility rates following World War II. Stable or decreasing mortality rates for U.S. women and Canadian women born after 1950 were not expected in view of declining fertility rates, suggesting a change in a breast cancer risk factor or protective factor. The increase in calendar period trend slope in the 1980s likely reflects the coincident rise in breast cancer diagnosis via mammography. The recent decline in calendar period trend for white women in the United States and for Canadian women may be the result of earlier detection and increased use of adjuvant therapy.
-
We argue that over the past 300 years human physiology has been undergoing profound environmentally induced changes made possible by numerous advances in technology. These changes, which we call technophysio evolution, increased body size by over 50%, and greatly improved the robustness and capacity of vital organ systems. Because technophysio evolution is still ongoing, it is relevant to forecasts of longevity and morbidity and, therefore, to forecasts of the size of the elderly population and pension and health care costs.
-
Child mortality estimates in Beirut are presented for the late 1970s and the mid 1980s, and changes in socio-religious differentials of mortality across time are investigated. ⋯ The findings confirm the hypothesis of a reduction over time of religious-based child mortality differences in the capital city of Lebanon, in agreement with the pattern found for religious-based fertility differences. Comparisons with other countries in the region indicate that the war in Lebanon has slowed down the decline in child mortality, causing the country to loose its priviledged position among Arab countries.