Trends in liver cancer mortality rates in Japan, USA, UK, France and Korea based on the who mortality database

摘要

In order to identify the factors that influence national trends in mortality, it is essential to distinguish between period and cohort patterns. Whereas period patterns indicate immediate effects of conditions occurring for all age groups at that period, cohort patterns may reflect long-lasting effects of determinants present earlier in the individual life course, e.g. in infancy, childhood or adulthood.Mortality data, abstracted from the World Health Organization (WHO) database, are available for various countries. We used annual data on liver cancer mortality in the United Kingdom (UK), France and Korea during the period 1950—2009 by gender and 5-year age groups. For Japan and the United States (USA), the data were abstracted from the Vital Statistics in Japan and the National Cancer Institute, respectively. Data were available for 1960—2010 in Japan and 1980-2004 in the USA. We calculated age-specific liver cancer mortality rates among individuals over 40 years of age in 9-year birth cohorts based on the mortality data grouped into 5-year intervals.