An epidemiologic analysis of mortality and gastric cancer in Newfoundland.

A descriptive epidemiologic study of general mortality and of deaths attributable to gastric cancer was undertaken in Newfoundland. General mortality as well as gastric cancer mortality was highest on the east coast and lowest in the northwest region. A close correspondence between general mortality and the geomorphology of the island was observed. Marked regional variations in gastric cancer mortality were observed, with consistently higher death rates being reported for the peninsula between Conception and Trinity Bays and other eastern sectors. No regular differences between rural versus urban mortality rates were observed for gastric cancer. The death rate for males was double that for females, and a slight downward trend in gastric cancer mortality from 1930 to 1971 was observed. This study reveals that gastric cancer mortality is high, by international comparisons, in Newfoundland, but is less than in the highest risk countries (Japan, Chile, Iceland).