Male category-specific mortality at age 70-79 years in
the United Kingdom: 1950-2007
Comment: UK male mortality in early old age fell by 51% between 1967 and 2007. This corresponds to an absolute decline of 4295 yearly deaths per 100 000 men in early old age,
some 40% of which is attributable to a decrease in coronary heart disease, 21% to a decrease in stroke, 4% to a decrease in lung cancer (the UK's remarkable decline in male lung cancer mortality began,
at this age, only in the late 1970s), and 11% to a decrease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mortality from liver cirrhosis doubled over this period, though by 2007 it was still a relatively
uncommon cause of death among men of this age.
Categories: For descriptions of what the categories mean, and examples of the causes of death they include, see the
Information about Causes of Death page.
Method: Mortality rates calculated using data from the World Health Organization and the
United Nations Population Division,
then standardised for age (by taking unweighted averages of component rates) and smoothed (as weighted 3-year moving averages). For details, see
the Info page.
Caution: Trends can reflect not only changes in disease occurrence or treatment, but also changes in how a cause of death is
defined or coded.
Comment: UK male mortality in early old age fell by 51% between 1967 and 2007. This corresponds to an absolute decline of 4295 yearly deaths per 100 000 men in early old age, some 40% of which is attributable to a decrease in coronary heart disease, 21% to a decrease in stroke, 4% to a decrease in lung cancer (the UK's remarkable decline in male lung cancer mortality began, at this age, only in the late 1970s), and 11% to a decrease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mortality from liver cirrhosis doubled over this period, though by 2007 it was still a relatively uncommon cause of death among men of this age.
Categories: For descriptions of what the categories mean, and examples of the causes of death they include, see the Information about Causes of Death page.
Method: Mortality rates calculated using data from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Division, then standardised for age (by taking unweighted averages of component rates) and smoothed (as weighted 3-year moving averages). For details, see the Info page.
Caution: Trends can reflect not only changes in disease occurrence or treatment, but also changes in how a cause of death is defined or coded.