Blood, 1955, Vol. 10, No. 12, pp. 1214-1227.
© 1955 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Hodgkin’s Disease
Mortality in the United States, 1921-1951; Race, Sex and Age
Distribution; Comparison with Leukemia
MICHAEL B. SHIMKIN 1
1 National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Public Health
Service, U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Bethesda, Maryland.
Mortality from Hodgkin’s disease in the United States during the period
1921 through 1951 was analyzed with respect to race, sex and age incidence and
distribution. The findings were compared with those reported for leukemia.
The recorded death rate from Hodgkin’s disease rose from 6.9 in 1921 to 17.0
per million in 1951. During this period, the death rate from leukemia rose from
14 to 61 per million.
The death rate among males is higher than among females for both diseases;
the male predominance is more marked in Hodgkin’s disease than in leukemia.
The rate is higher among whites than non-whites for both diseases; the white
predominance is more marked in leukemia than in Hodgkin’s disease. There is
no peak in rate during childhood for Hodgkin’s disease as there is for leukemia,
and the increase in rate with age is much less steep for Hodgkin’s disease than for
leukemia.
The mean age at death of adults dying from Hodgkin’s disease and from leukemia increased by 3.5 and 8.0 years, respectively, between 1925 and 1950.
The male-female sex ratio for Hodgkin’s disease decreased slightly, and increased
slightly for leukemia between 1925 and 1950.
Submitted on July 13, 1955
Accepted on September 12, 1955
