title: Cysticercosis-related deaths, California.
abstract: Cysticercosis is an increasingly important disease in the United States, but information on the occurrence of related deaths is limited. We examined data from California death certificates for the 12-year period 1989-2000. A total of 124 cysticercosis deaths were identified, representing a crude 12-year death rate of 3.9 per million population (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.2 to 4.6). Eighty-two (66%) of the case-patients were male; 42 (34%) were female. The median age at death was 34.5 years (range 7-81 years). Most patients (107, 86.3%) were foreign-born, and 90 (72.6%) had emigrated from Mexico. Seventeen (13.7%) deaths occurred in U.S.-born residents. Cysticercosis death rates were higher in Latino residents of California (13.0/106) than in other racial/ethnic groups (0.4/106), in males (5.2/106) than in females (2.7/106), and in persons >14 years of age (5.0/106). Cysticercosis is a preventable cause of premature death, particularly among young Latino persons in California and may be a more common cause of death in the United States than previously recognized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, University of California-Los Angeles, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. fsorvill@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Sorvillo
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Portigal
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: DeGiorgio
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Stephen H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Waterman
authors.forename: George W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Berlin
authors.forename: Lawrence R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Ash
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003551:Cysticercosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality*; D003644:Death Certificates; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology