Interrelation between Western type cancers and non-Western type cancers as regards their risk variations in time and space. VI. Chronological transition of various cancer risks of the world from 1975 to 1985.
We comparatively investigated the age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIRs) of overall cancers of the world between 1975 and 1985 to see whether or not any consistent change is in progress in the risk for cancer in general on a world scale. Results obtained are summarized as follows: 1) the total male population of the world, but not the total female population, experienced a significant rise in AAIR for cancers of all sites during the above 10 years. 2) In the comparison study of geographical subgroups, the above integral cancer risk significantly increased with time in the male population of Canada, USA-White, USA-Black, European continent (EC)-West, EC-others and Great Britain, and also in the female populations of both USA-Black and Great Britain. In other geographical subgroups the cancer risks for 1985 were also higher than those for 1975, but the differences were not statistically significant. 3) The above increase of cancer risk in general was accounted for by a surplus in weight of the increasing contribution of Western-type cancers over the decreasing contribution of non-Western type cancers to the integral cancer risk of a population. 4) Japan was found to be an exceptional case in that the risk for liver cancer (a non-Western type cancer) increased 3 to 8 fold from 1975 to 1985 in both male and female populations of Japan. Evidence was presented to suggest that the above increase of liver cancer incidence could be related to the persistence of social tension following the first oil crisis in 1973. In summary, the chronological transition patterns of cancer risk in Japan as well as in other parts of the world support our interpretation that social tension linked to the economic recession plays a crucial role in the production of recent changes of cancer risk in the world.
Kodama
M
M
Kodama Research Institute of Preventive Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Kodama
T
T
D000367:Age Factors; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013029:Space-Time Clustering; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology