Mortality rates of liver cancer in Spain: effect of age, birth cohort, and period of death.
Liver cancer is one of the main causes of death in Mediterranean countries. The pattern of mortality from liver cancer has been characterized by both geographical and temporal variations. In order to clarify its trend and in an attempt to hypothesize the future pattern of mortality, we analyzed data from the Spanish population, aged more than 35 yr, who died of liver cancer during the period of 1975 to 1989. The mortality data were obtained from the National Statistical Institute of Spain. We used a log-linear Poisson model to examine the effects of age, birth cohort, and calendar period of death. Age is the strongest factor in predicting liver cancer mortality according to the models. The sharp decrease in liver cancer mortality rates that had occurred in both sexes can be attributed to the joint effect of better diagnosis and assignment of metastatic tumors to the site of their primary origin, as well as to the modification of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code.
Morales Suarez-Varela
M M
MM
Unit of Public Health, Hygiene and Environmental Health, Valencia University, Spain.
LlopisGonzalez
L L
LL
Tejerizo Perez
M L
ML
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D015988:Cohort Effect; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D012621:Seasons; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology