[A mortality study of middle-aged and elderly Koreans in Kawasaki City in comparison with Koreans in Korea and Japanese in Kawasaki City].

This study examined the differences in mortality rate among the three ethnic groups aged 35 to 69: 1) Japanese living in Kawasaki city, 2) Koreans living in Kawasaki city, 3) Koreans living in Korea. Three different measures were used for analysis: 1) mortality rate by sex and age, 2) Mantel-Haenszel Rate Ratio (MHRR), 3) Standardized Proportional Mortality Ratio (SPMR). Major findings were as follows: 1) In terms of mortality rate by sex and age, Koreans in both Kawasaki and Korea showed higher mortality rates than Japanese in Kawasaki for both sexes and for all of the age categories. Koreans living in Kawasaki and Koreans living in Korea showed nearly identical levels of mortality rate for both sexes and for all of the age categories. 2) Calculation of MHRR utilizing a mortality rate for Japanese living in Kawasaki as 1 yielded the following: For all causes of death, MHRR of Korean males living in Kawasaki aged 35 to 59 was 2.59, and 2.37 for ages 60 to 69. For females MHRR for those age groups were 1.91 and 2.06 respectively. All of these MHRRs were statistically significantly high (p less than 0.05). 3) Among the causes for the high MHRR for Korean males living in Kawasaki aged 35 to 59 compared in Japanese living in Kawasaki were the following: all Malignant neoplasms (ICD 9, 140-208), Malignant neoplasm of liver (155), Hypertensive disease (401-405), Ischemic heart disease (410-414), Pneumonia (480-486), Liver Cirrhosis (571). For males aged 60 to 69, causes were Tuberculosis (010-018), all Malignant neoplasms, Malignant neoplasm of liver, Ischemic heart disease, Disease of the pulmonary circulation and other forms of heart disease (415-429), Cerebrovascular disease (430-438), and Liver Cirrhosis. In the case of females, Tuberculosis, Disease of the pulmonary circulation and other forms of heart disease, Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung were causes for high MHRR for Koreans in Kawasaki aged 35 to 59. All Malignant neoplasms, Malignant neoplasm of liver, Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung, Accidental causes of death except motor vehicle accidents (E800-807, E826-848, E850-949) were causes for females aged 60 to 69. 4) The mortality rates for ages 35 to 69 for both sexes are similar for both Koreans living in Kawasaki and in Korea.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)