Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate whether trends in mortality from cancer of the cervix uteri by age, marital status, and social class are compatible with current beliefs about the epidemiology of the disease. DESIGN: Data on mortality from cancer of the cervix for single and married women by age and social class were obtained from the Registrar General's Decennial Supplements on occupational mortality for the years 1950-53, 1959-63, 1970-72, and 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1983. Age standardised mortality rates were calculated directly by social class and marital status. SETTING: The data relate to all cases of carcinoma of the cervix reported in England and Wales in the years studied. MAIN RESULTS: There was a marked convergence of mortality between single and married women over the period within every social class grouping examined. The social class differential, however, remained essentially unchanged for both single and married women considered separately. CONCLUSIONS: Trends in mortality by marital status appear to reflect accurately the changes in the pattern of marriage and sexual behaviour that have taken place in the post-war period, whereas the patterns of other risk and protective factors such as screening explain these trends less well. In contrast, it seems likely that factors other than patterns of sexual behaviour and screening operate to maintain the social class differential in England and Wales.

Original publication

DOI

10.1136/jech.46.4.378

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Epidemiol Community Health

Publication Date

08/1992

Volume

46

Pages

378 - 381

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, England, Female, Humans, Marital Status, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Sexual Behavior, Social Class, Uterine Cervical Neoplasms, Wales