Births in Great Britain resulting from assisted conception, 1978-87. MRC Working Party on Children Conceived by In Vitro Fertilisation.

OBJECTIVE--To describe the characteristics at birth of children conceived by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or by gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) and to assess whether they differ from those of children conceived naturally. DESIGN--Survey of children resulting from IVF or GIFT and comparison of their characteristics at birth with national statistics. SETTING--England, Scotland, and Wales from 1978 to 1987. SUBJECTS--1267 Pregnancies conceived by IVF or GIFT, which resulted in 1581 liveborn or stillborn children. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Sex ratio, multiplicity, gestational age at birth, birth weight, stillbirth rate, perinatal and infant mortality, and prevalence of congenital malformations. RESULTS--The ratio of male to female births was 1.07:1; 23% (249/1092) of the deliveries were multiple births compared with 1% for natural conceptions; 24% (278) of 1015 deliveries were preterm compared with 6% in England and Wales; 32% (406) of 1269 babies weighed less than 2500 g compared with 7% in England and Wales. The high percentage of preterm deliveries and of low birthweight babies was largely, but not entirely, due to the high frequency of multiple births. The rate of stillbirth, perinatal mortality, and infant mortality were twice the national average, these excesses being due to the high frequency of multiple births. One or more major congenital malformations were detected during the first week of life in 35 (2.2%) of 1581 babies. This figure is comparable with population based estimates of the prevalence of congenital malformations. The types of malformations reported varied, and the number of each specific type was small. The health of the children was not evaluated beyond the perinatal period. CONCLUSIONS--Multiple pregnancies often result from assisted conception and are the main determinant of the outcome of the pregnancies and of the health of the children at the time of birth. Congenital malformations are comparatively rare, so larger numbers of children need to be studied before firm conclusions can be drawn. The pooling of data from different countries is recommended.     

Malformations of Central Nervous System and Softness of Local Water Supplies

The mean annual prevalence at birth of congenital malformations of the central nervous system for the three years 1964-6 in 48 local authority areas in South Wales was negatively correlated (r = -0·402, P<0·01) with estimates of the mean total hardness of the related water supplies.The mean annual perinatal mortality rate from anencephalus for the five years 1963-7 in 58 county boroughs in England and Wales was also negatively correlated with estimates of the mean total hardness (r = -0·220, P>0·05) and calcium content (r = -0·289, P<0·05) of the related water supplies.It is concluded that the relationship between these associations may well be secondary. Analytical epidemiological studies of the association are called for.     

Excess mortality associated with alcohol consumption.

To estimate the excess mortality due to alcohol in England and Wales death rates specific to alcohol consumption that had been derived from five longitudinal studies were applied to the current population divided into categories of alcohol consumption. Because of the J shaped relation between alcohol consumption and death the excess mortality used as a baseline was an alcohol consumption of 1-10 units/week and an adjustment was made for the slight excess mortality of abstainers. The number of excess deaths was obtained by subtracting the number of deaths expected if all the population had the consumption of the lowest risk group; correction for the total observed mortality in the population was made. This resulted in an estimate of 28,000 deaths each year in England and Wales as the excess mortality among people aged 15-74 associated with alcohol consumption.     

Patterns of infant mortality caused by major congenital anomalies

BACKGROUND: We assessed the impact of recent advances in perinatal care on infant mortality due to congenital anomaly. METHODS: Analysis of trends in congenital anomaly-attributed infant mortality, using the 1981-1995 Statistics Canada's birth and death records, with a total of 2,878,826 live births, 21,883 infant deaths, and 6, 908 infant deaths due to congenital anomalies. RESULTS: Infant mortality due to major congenital anomaly decreased from 3.11 per 1, 000 live births in 1981 to 1.89 per 1,000 live births in 1995. Cause-specific infant mortality rates for anencephaly, spina bifida, other central nervous system anomalies, cardiovascular system anomalies, respiratory system anomalies, digestive system anomalies, certain musculoskeleton anomalies, urinary system anomalies, chromosomal anomalies, and multiple congenital anomalies were 0.20, 0.23, 0.27, 1.04, 0.24, 0.08, 0.22, 0.16, 0.22, and 0.13 per 1,000 live births, respectively, in 1981-1983, whereas corresponding rates were 0.07, 0.07, 0.18, 0.73, 0.25, 0.03, 0.12, 0.12, 0.26, and 0.06 per 1,000 live births, respectively, in 1993-1995. CONCLUSIONS: Recent Canadian data show that infant deaths caused by major congenital anomalies have decreased significantly, but reductions varied substantially according to specific forms of anomalies.     

Frequency of fatal congenital anomalies of the nervous system: Association with geographic latitude

Abstract

We report a significant pole‐to‐equator gradient in fatal congenital defects of the central nervous system whose rates increase directly with increasing latitudes in either hemisphere of the American continent. This gradient was not observed in deaths due to malformations of other organ systems and is in the opposite direction to the well‐recognized one between latitude and childhood mortality.     

Childhood respiratory infection and adult chronic bronchitis in England and Wales.

The high mortality from chronic bronchitis in England and Wales and the excess of urban over rural mortality are unexplained. On dividing England and Wales into 212 local authority areas a strong geographical relation was found between death rates from chronic bronchitis and emphysema in 1959-78 and infant mortality from bronchitis and pneumonia during 1921-5. It was concluded that this relation provided strong evidence of a direct casual link between acute lower respiratory infection in early childhood and chronic bronchitis in adult life. Regression analysis suggested that infection in early childhood had a greater influence than cigarette smoking in determining the geographical distribution of chronic bronchitis. National time trends reflected the influence of both factors. Chronic air pollution in adult life may be less important a cause of chronic bronchitis than previously supposed.     

Home births in England and Wales, 1979: perinatal mortality according to intended place of delivery.

A survey was carried out of all 8856 births occurring at home in England and Wales in 1979. Of these births, 67% had been booked for delivery at home, 21% had been booked for delivery in hospital, 3% had not been booked, and for 9% the intended place of delivery was unknown. The perinatal mortality varied almost 50-fold according to the intended place of delivery, ranging from 4.1/1000 births in those booked for delivery at home to 196.6/1000 unbooked births. Deliveries that occurred at home but had been booked for a hospital consultant unit were associated with a perinatal mortality of 67.5/1000. Births that had been booked for delivery at home included the smallest proportion of babies of low birth weight: 2.5% weighed 2500 g or less compared with 18% of those booked for consultant units and 29% of those not booked. Within these low birthweight groups there were noticeable differences in perinatal mortality; births booked to occur at home had the lowest mortality and unbooked births had the highest. Perinatal mortality among babies who weighed more than 2500 g was generally low irrespective of the intended place of delivery; the only exception was in babies whose delivery had not been booked. In all groups perinatal mortality was considerably higher in nulliparous than parous women. Women booking a delivery at home are clearly a selected group, and some may have been transferred to hospital during labour and were thus not included in the survey. Nevertheless, these data suggest that the perinatal mortality among births booked to occur at home is low, especially for parous women.     

Variations in number of births and perinatal mortality by day of week in England and Wales.

Analysis of the births that occurred in England and Wales during 1970-6 showed that they followed a seven-day cycle, being concentrated from Tuesdays to Fridays and least numerous on Sundays. This pattern became increasingly pronounced during the period examined. Relatively few births occurred on bank holidays, especially Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In general perinatal mortality was higher among babies born at weekends than among those born on weekdays. It is likely that the pattern seen in the numbers of births is associated to a large extent with elective intervention. It is not possible to draw any conclusions about the pattern seen in perinatal mortality as so far the analysis has been confined to crude rates.     

Time trends in twin perinatal mortality in northern England, 1982-94. Northern Region Perinatal Mortality Survey Steering Group.

The dynamics of perinatal mortality rates (PNMR) and causes of death in twin pregnancies over 13 years in the Northern Region of the National Health Service in England is described. All twin perinatal deaths occurring between 1982-1994 were identified from the Northern Region Perinatal Mortality Survey. The twinning rate increased from 9.9 per 1000 maternities in 1982 to 12.0 in 1994. There was a total of 10,734 twin pregnancies and of these 421 resulted in 530 perinatal deaths. The perinatal mortality rate in twins significantly decreased over time (1982-87, 55.4 per 1000; 1988-94, 44.4 per 1000; P = 0.01). The PNMR was significantly higher for twins from like-sexed than from unlike-sexed pairs (53.5 and 34.4 per 1000 respectively, P < 0.001). Despite no improvement in birthweight distribution in the twin population, birthweight-specific perinatal mortality rates for both like and unlike-sexed twins decreased for each birthweight category in 1988-94 compared with 1982-87. Twins with very low birthweight (< 1500 g) comprised 69%, and preterm twins (< 37 completed weeks of gestation) 74.9% of all twin perinatal deaths. The major immediate cause of early neonatal death was pulmonary immaturity (63%); antepartum anoxia caused 76.9% of antenatal deaths. Unexplained preterm labour and intrauterine death were the leading obstetric factors underlying death in twins. Despite a decrease over the 13 years, the perinatal mortality rate in twins in the Northern Region remains high. Continued monitoring of trends in twinning and mortality rates is needed to inform health care planning.     

Rising mortality from cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the pattern of mortality ascribed to cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis and to identify factors that might be important in the aetiology of the disease; and to assess the validity of death certification of the disease. DESIGN--A retrospective examination of mortality ascribed to cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis in England and Wales between 1979 and 1988 with analysis, by multiple logistic regression, of independent effects of age, sex, region of residence, and social class as indicated by occupation on data for 1979-87; also a retrospective review of hospital records of patients certified as having died of cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis in Nottingham and of the certified cause of death of patients known to have had the disease. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Time trends in mortality nationally; effects on mortality of age, sex, and region of residence; validity of death certification in Nottingham. RESULTS--The annual number of deaths ascribed to cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis doubled from 336 in 1979 to 702 in 1988, the increase occurring mainly at ages over 65. Mortality standardised for age for both sexes likewise increased steadily over the period. Deaths due to cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis were commoner in men (odds ratio 2.24, 95% confidence interval 2.11 to 2.33) and increased substantially with age, being 7.84 (7.24 to 8.49) times higher in subjects aged much greater than 75 than those aged 45-64. Odds ratios of death due to cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis adjusted for age and sex were increased in the traditionally industrialised central areas of England and Wales (p less than 0.02, maximum odds ratio between regions 1.25), but no significant increase in odds of death was found for manual occupations. Of 23 people whose deaths were registered in Nottingham as having been due to cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis, 19 were ascertained from clinical records to have had the disease. Only 17 of 45 patients known to have had cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis in life were recorded as having died from the disease. CONCLUSIONS--The diagnostic accuracy of death certification of cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis is high, but the number of deaths recorded as being due to the disease may underestimate the number of patients dying with the disease by up to half. Mortality due to the disease is increasing, and the male predominance and regional differences in mortality suggest that environmental factors are important in its aetiology.     

Childhood cancer mortality in Australia

Aim: To determine current rates of childhood cancer mortality at a national level for Australia and to evaluate recent trends. Methods: Using population-based data from the Australian Paediatric Cancer Registry, we calculated cancer-related mortality counts and rates for the 3-year period 2006-2008 and trends between 1998 and 2008 by sex, age group, and cause of death (defined according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancers, third edition). Rates were directly age-standardised to the 2000 World Standard Population, and linear regression was used to determine the magnitude and significance of trends. The standardised mortality ratio for non-cancer deaths among children with cancer was also estimated. Results: A total of 282 children (23 per million per year) died from cancer in Australia between 2006 and 2008. Large decreases were observed in cancer mortality rates over the study period, particularly for boys (-5.5% per year; p<0.001), children aged 10-14 years old (-5.5% per year; p=0.001), and leukaemia patients (-9.4% per year; p<0.001). However, there was no significant change in mortality due to tumours of the central nervous system. Children with cancer were twice as likely to die from non-cancer causes compared to other children (SMR=2.06; p=0.001). Conclusions: While ongoing improvements in childhood cancer mortality in Australia are generally encouraging, of concern is the lack of a corresponding decrease in mortality among children with certain types of tumours of the central nervous system during the past decade. The results also highlight the need for intensive monitoring of childhood cancer patients for other serious diseases that may subsequently arise.     

Death rates from stroke in England and Wales predicted from past maternal mortality.

Geographical differences in maternal mortality in England and Wales during 1911-4 correlate closely with death rates from stroke in the generation born around that time. The geographical distribution of stroke is more closely related to past maternal mortality than to any leading cause of death, past or present, except ischaemic heart disease, for which correlation coefficients with stroke are similar. This relation is new evidence that poor health and physique of mothers are important determinants of the risk of stroke among their offspring.     

Child Deaths Due to Injury in the Four UK Countries: A Time Trends Study from 1980 to 2010

Background

Injuries are an increasingly important cause of death in children worldwide, yet injury mortality is highly preventable. Determining patterns and trends in child injury mortality can identify groups at particularly high risk. We compare trends in child deaths due to injury in four UK countries, between 1980 and 2010.

Methods

We obtained information from death certificates on all deaths occurring between 1980 and 2010 in children aged 28 days to 18 years and resident in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Injury deaths were defined by an external cause code recorded as the underlying cause of death. Injury mortality rates were analysed by type of injury, country of residence, age group, sex and time period.

Results

Child mortality due to injury has declined in all countries of the UK. England consistently experienced the lowest mortality rate throughout the study period. For children aged 10 to 18 years, differences between countries in mortality rates increased during the study period. Inter-country differences were largest for boys aged 10 to 18 years with mortality rate ratios of 1.38 (95% confidence interval 1.16, 1.64) for Wales, 1.68 (1.48, 1.91) for Scotland and 1.81 (1.50, 2.18) for Northern Ireland compared with England (the baseline) in 2006–10. The decline in mortality due to injury was accounted for by a decline in unintentional injuries. For older children, no declines were observed for deaths caused by self-harm, by assault or from undetermined intent in any UK country.

Conclusion

Whilst child deaths from injury have declined in all four UK countries, substantial differences in mortality rates remain between countries, particularly for older boys. This group stands to gain most from policy interventions to reduce deaths from injury in children.     

Analysis of trends in cancer mortality in England and Wales during 1951-80 separating changes associated with period of birth and period of death.

Cancer mortality rates in England and Wales were analysed so to describe simultaneously changes affecting successive generations--that is, associated with period of birth--as well as changes associated with the period of which the deaths took place. When mortality from all cancers was considered the analysis implied that, contrary to a widely held view, the rate of death from cancer had been declining in each sex in successive generations. For men the decline had occurred in generations born since 1900, whereas for women the peak came in the 1925 birth group. On the other hand, there had been little decline in the rates associated with period of death. Five examples of cancers of specific organs for which the trends contrasted are shown.     

Prospective population based survey of outcome of pregnancy in diabetic women: results of the Northern Diabetic Pregnancy Audit, 1994.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the St Vincent declaration (1989) target of diabetic pregnancy outcome approximating non-diabetic pregnancy outcome in near to being achieved. DESIGN: Prospective collection of population based information on pregnancies in women with diabetes from all participating hospitals. SETTING: District general and teaching hospitals of the former Northern region. SUBJECTS: 111 diabetic women booking with pregnancy during 1 January to 31 December 1994. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Diabetic control, perinatal mortality rate, fetal abnormality rate. RESULTS: The perinatal mortality rate was 48/1000 for diabetic pregnancies compared with 8.9/1000 for the background population (odds ratio 5.38; 95% confidence interval 2.27 to 12.70) and the neonatal mortality rate was 59/1000 compared with 3.9/1000 (15.0; 6.77 to 33.10). Two late neonatal deaths were due to congenital heart defects. Six per cent of all fetal losses (6/109 cases) were due to major malformations. The congenital malformation rate was 83/1000 compared with 21.3/1000 (3.76; 2.00 to 7.06) in the background population. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic pregnancy remains a high risk state with perinatal mortality and fetal malformation rates much higher than in the background population.     

Mortality of workers at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels.

The mortality of all 14,327 people who were known to have been employed at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels at any time between the opening of the site in 1947 and 31 December 1975 was studied up to the end of 1983. The vital state of 96% of the workers was traced satisfactorily and 2277 were found to have died, 572 (25%) from cancer. On average the workers suffered a mortality from all causes that was 2% less than that of the general population of England and Wales and 9% less than that of the population of Cumberland (the area in which the plant is sited). Their mortality from cancers of all kinds was 5% less than that of England and Wales and 3% less than that of Cumberland. In the five years after their first employment Sellafield workers had an overall mortality that was 70% of that of England and Wales, probably due to healthier members of the population being selected for employment. Raised death rates from cancers of several specific sites were found, but only for those of ill defined and secondary sites was the excess statistically significant (30 observed, 19.7 expected). For cancers of the liver and gall bladder there was a significant deficit of deaths (four observed, 10.5 expected). Workers in areas of the plant where radiation exposure was likely were issued with dosimeters to measure their external exposure to ionising radiations. Personal dose records were maintained for workers who entered such areas other than infrequently. Workers with personal dose records ("radiation" workers) had lower death rates from all causes combined than other workers but the death rates from cancer in the two groups were similar. Compared with the general population radiation workers had statistically significant deficits of liver and gall bladder cancer, lung cancer, and Hodgkin''s disease. There were excesses of deaths from myeloma (seven observed, 4.2 expected) and prostatic cancer (19 observed, 15.8 expected) but these were not significant and there was no evidence of an excess of leukaemia (10 deaths observed, 12.2 expected) or cancer of the pancreas (15 observed, 17.8 expected). Non-radiation workers had a significant deficit of leukaemia (one death observed, 5.1 expected) and a significant excess of cancers of ill defined and secondary sites (13 deaths observed, 5.8 expected). For no type of cancer was the ratio of observed to expected deaths significantly different between radiation and non-radiation workers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Why Londoners have low death rates from ischaemic heart disease and stroke.

OBJECTIVE--To explain the low death rates from cardiovascular disease in London. SETTING--London and the other counties of England and Wales. SUBJECTS--Women living in London during 1901-10 and people in London dying during 1968-78. RESULTS--At the beginning of the twentieth century young women aged 15-34 in London had remarkably low death rates, largely because of low rates for tuberculosis and other infectious diseases and low mortality during childbirth. Their low death rates contrasted with the high rates in girls under 15 years. CONCLUSIONS--Large numbers of young women had migrated into London from agricultural counties in southern England and went into domestic service, where the diet was usually very good. Recent findings suggest that a mother''s nutrition and health has a major effect on the risk of cardiovascular disease in the next generation. The low cardiovascular mortality in London is consistent with this, and contrasts with the high mortality from other common diseases.     

The Scottish perinatal mortality survey.

Perinatal deaths in single births that occurred in Scotland during 1977 were investigated by case-record analysis. Causes of death were divided into nine categories, an extended version of the Aberdeen classification being used. Out of 1012 single perinatal deaths, 265 were due to fetal abnormality, which in 140 cases was malformation of the central nervous system. Of the 747 normally formed infants, 446 weighed 1500 g or more, of whom 82 died intra partum and 154 were born alive. The largest single cause of death was low birth weight in normally formed babies whose mothers had no complications of pregnancy (302 cases). Of these babies, 103 (34%) were growth-retarded. Rhesus incompatibility (16 deaths) and maternal diabetes (seven deaths) were not major causes of perinatal loss. These results were thought to be valuable in illustrating the main causes of perinatal mortality and directing attention to important issues. Hence a modified version of the study is being continued to see whether yearly audit by regional assessors is a feasible and practical way of monitoring trends in perinatal mortality.     

Using birth defects registry data to evaluate infant and childhood mortality associated with birth defects: an alternative to traditional mortality assessment using underlying cause of death statistics

BACKGROUND: Although birth defects are a leading cause of death in infancy and early childhood, the proportion of all deaths to children with clinically diagnosed birth defects is not well documented. The study is intended to measure the proportion of all deaths to infants and children under age 10 occurring to children with birth defects and how and why this proportion differs from the proportion of deaths due to an underlying cause of congenital anomalies using standard mortality statistics. METHODS: A linked file of Michigan livebirths and deaths was combined with data from a comprehensive multisource birth defects registry of Michigan livebirths born during the years 1992 through 2000. The data were analyzed to determine the mortality rate for infants and children with birth defects and for children with no reported birth defect. Mortality risk ratios were calculated. The underlying causes of death for children with birth defects were also categorized and compared to cause- specific mortality rates for the general population. RESULTS: Congenital anomalies were the underlying cause of death for 17.8% of all infant deaths while infants with birth defects were 33.7% of all infant deaths in the study. Almost half of all Michigan deaths to children aged 1 to 2 were within the birth defects registry, though only 15.0% had an underlying cause of death of a congenital anomaly based upon standard mortality statistics. The mortality experience among children with birth defects was significantly higher than other children throughout the first 9 years of life, ranging from 4.6 for 5 year olds to 12.8 for children 1 to 2. Mortality risk ratios examined by cause of death for infants with birth defects were highest for other endocrine (28.1), other CNS (28.1), and heart (21.9) conditions. For children 1 through 9, the highest differential risk was seen for other perinatal conditions (39.0), other endocrine (29.7), other CNS (24.5), and heart (21.4). CONCLUSIONS: Childhood mortality analyses that incorporate birth defects registry data provide a more comprehensive picture of the full burden of birth defects on mortality in infant and children and can provide an effective mechanism for monitoring the survival and mortality risks of children with selected birth defects on a population basis.     

Mortality from asthma: a new epidemic in New Zealand

Trends in mortality attributed to asthma in the 5-34-year age group were examined in New Zealand, Australia, England and Wales, the United States, Canada, and West Germany for the years 1959-79. An epidemic of deaths from asthma occurred in the mid-1960s in New Zealand, Australia, and England and Wales but not in the other countries. In Australia and England and Wales the death rate quickly returned to pre-epidemic levels, but in New Zealand the decline in mortality was slow, and by 1974 the death rate was still almost double the pre-epidemic level. Of great concern was an abrupt increase in reported deaths from asthma in New Zealand after 1976 with the mortality rate during 1977-9 being greater than during the previous epidemic. In contrast, asthma mortality had remained relatively stable in the other populations.The new epidemic in New Zealand was investigated and appeared to be real. It could not be explained by changes in the classification of deaths from asthma, inaccuracies in death certification, or changes in diagnostic fashions. The most likely explanation appeared to be related to the management of asthma in New Zealand, and this is being investigated.