Female category-specific mortality at age 35-49 years in
the United Kingdom: 1950-2007
Comment: UK female mortality in early middle age fell by 46% between 1967 and 2007. This corresponds to an absolute decline of 106 yearly deaths per 100 000 women in early middle age,
some 12% of which is attributable to a decrease in stroke, 11% to a decrease in coronary heart disease, 11% to a decrease in breast cancer, 8% to a decrease in cervical cancer,
6% to a decrease in ovarian cancer, 5% to a decrease in bowel cancer, 3% to a decrease in lung cancer, 10% to a decrease in all other cancers combined,
3% to a decrease in motor vehicle crashes, and 1% to a decrease in obstetric (ie, maternal) mortality. During this period, injury mortality fell by 38%, but mortality from liver cirrhosis increased by
a factor of nearly 6.
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 female mortality in early middle age fell by 46% between 1967 and 2007. This corresponds to an absolute decline of 106 yearly deaths per 100 000 women in early middle age, some 12% of which is attributable to a decrease in stroke, 11% to a decrease in coronary heart disease, 11% to a decrease in breast cancer, 8% to a decrease in cervical cancer, 6% to a decrease in ovarian cancer, 5% to a decrease in bowel cancer, 3% to a decrease in lung cancer, 10% to a decrease in all other cancers combined, 3% to a decrease in motor vehicle crashes, and 1% to a decrease in obstetric (ie, maternal) mortality. During this period, injury mortality fell by 38%, but mortality from liver cirrhosis increased by a factor of nearly 6.
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.