Past infant mortality predicts current adult mortality from stomach cancer and stroke

On p 1705 Leon and Davey Smith suggest that a poor environment in childhood explains similarities in epidemiology of stroke and stomach cancer. They used data from the World Health Organisation for 27 countries to examine infant mortality in the 1920s against current mortality from stomach cancer and other causes. There were strong correlations between infant mortality in the 1920s and current mortality for stomach cancer and weak correlations for coronary heart disease; strong correlations were found with both historical and current infant mortality for stroke. The authors suggest that a poor childhood environment, associated with high infant mortality, might explain some of the similarities in the epidemiology of stroke and stomach cancer.

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Relevant Article

Infant mortality, stomach cancer, stroke, and coronary heart disease: ecological analysis

David A Leon and George Davey Smith
BMJ 2000 320: 1705-1706. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]