Female category-specific mortality at age 15-34 years in
the United Kingdom: 1950-2007
Comment: Young adult female mortality in the UK fell by 40% between 1967 and 2007. This corresponds to an absolute decline of 22 yearly deaths per 100 000 young adult females,
some 15% of which is attributable to a decrease in motor vehicle crashes, 6% to a decrease in lymphoma, 5% to a decrease in breast cancer, 4% to a decrease in leukaemia, and 1% to
a decrease in lung cancer. A further 9% of the overall absolute decline is attributable to a decrease in obstetric (ie, maternal) mortality, 8% to a decrease in stroke,
and 4% to a decrease in coronary heart disease. Mortality from liver cirrhosis increased
during this period by a factor of 4. The small increase in infectious disease mortality during the 1990s (the pale blue line) was caused by HIV/AIDS.
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: Young adult female mortality in the UK fell by 40% between 1967 and 2007. This corresponds to an absolute decline of 22 yearly deaths per 100 000 young adult females, some 15% of which is attributable to a decrease in motor vehicle crashes, 6% to a decrease in lymphoma, 5% to a decrease in breast cancer, 4% to a decrease in leukaemia, and 1% to a decrease in lung cancer. A further 9% of the overall absolute decline is attributable to a decrease in obstetric (ie, maternal) mortality, 8% to a decrease in stroke, and 4% to a decrease in coronary heart disease. Mortality from liver cirrhosis increased during this period by a factor of 4. The small increase in infectious disease mortality during the 1990s (the pale blue line) was caused by HIV/AIDS.
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.