Mortality statistics of major causes of death among atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima Prefecture from 1968 to 1982

Abstract

A comparative study was made on mortality during a 15-year period from 1968 to 1982 between atomic bomb survivors resident in Hiroshima Prefecture and non-exposed controls. The mortality rate for all causes of death was lower in atomic bomb survivors than in the non-exposed, but the rate was higher among those directly exposed within about 1 km than in the non-exposed. The mortality rate for malignant neoplasms was higher in atomic bomb survivors than in the non-exposed, but that for cerebrovascular disease and heart disease was lower. In examining the rate for malignant neoplasms by site, the sites showing a high mortality rate among atomic bomb survivors were almost identical to the results of the Life Span Study. For these sites, the shorter the exposure distance the higher was the mortality rate. The rate for malignant neoplasms of the uterus and stomach, and leukemia was unnaturally high among early entrants whose period after issuance of atomic bomb survivor's health handbook was short. In observing the atomic bomb survivors by the level of family destruction due to the bombing as a socio-economic factor, a tendency was observed for the mortality rate for malignant neoplasms, diseases of blood and blood-forming organs, and peptic ulcer, to be higher among survivors with severe family destruction.