Mortality and causes of death among Danish medical doctors 1973-1992.

Background: To examine the mortality pattern of Danish doctors for the period 1973-1992.

Methods: A historical prospective cohort study based on the membership register of the Danish Medical Association. The study population consisted of 21,943 medical doctors, 6012 of whom were women.

[Mortality and cause of death among Danish physicians 1973-1992].

This study examines mortality rates of Danish doctors and describes pattern and causes of death for the period 1973-1992. The study comprises 21,943 medical doctors, 6012 of whom were women. At the end of 1992 there were 2387 recorded deaths.

[The national patient registry. Evaluation of data quality].

The Danish National Patient Register, which includes information on all patients admitted to hospitals, has been evaluated as concerns the quality of the data included. The material examined consisted of a representative sample of 1094 patients from departments all over the country (gynaecology and obstetrics, medicine, surgery and paediatrics). Recoding of data, clinical as well as administrative, based on copies of the case records from the hospitals was carried out by two clinically working physicians (registrars).

[Deaths due to paracetamol poisoning in Denmark 1979-1992].

A significant relationship between the amount of paracetamol (acetaminophen) sold in Denmark after the drug became available on an over-the counter basis in 1984 and an increase in paracetamol (acetaminophen) related deaths has been demonstrated.

Use of cimetidine and other peptic ulcer drugs in Denmark 1977-1990 with analysis of the risk of gastric cancer among cimetidine users.

The prevalence of use of peptic ulcer drugs in the Danish population is described at two points in time using registrations of applications for reimbursement. In 1977-81, the prevalence of use of cimetidine was 0.4% in men and 0.

The pattern of cancer in a large cohort of stroke patients.

A cohort of 113,732 stroke patients from Danish Hospital Discharge Registry were, by linkage to the Danish Cancer Registry, found to have developed a total of 5151 cases of cancer in a mean follow-up time of 2.4 years after the diagnosis of stroke. There was no excess of gastric cancer.

The WHO principles for registering causes of death: suggestions for improvement.

In the ongoing 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, the WHO's rules for registering causes of death are revised. Previous studies have shown that deficiencies in the WHO's rules and basic concepts for registering causes of death impair the quality of cause-of-death statistics. The purpose of the present paper is to elucidate some of these shortcomings and to make suggestions for improvement.

Cancer occurrence in a cohort of patients treated with cimetidine.

The possible carcinogenic effects of antisecretory agents used in the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcer were investigated in a population based cohort study of 16,739 patients who were prescribed the H2-antagonist cimetidine between 1977 and 1981. An excess risk for gastric cancer was observed, with a relative risk of about 10 in the first year after beginning use of the drug, which decreased thereafter. A similar pattern was seen for cancers of the colon, pancreas and gall bladder, and for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Validity and repeatability of self-reported occupational and industrial history from patients in EEC countries.

The results of a study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a questionnaire designed to ascertain occupational history and the repeatability of coding occupational and industrial status using an abbreviated version of the coding status are presented for EEC countries. The study demonstrates the difficulty of recruiting cancer patients below age 65. The percentage of useful information among patients who completed a self-administered questionnaire was slightly lower than those who completed an administered questionnaire but in general the response rate for most items in the questionnaires in any group was above 90%.

Cimetidine utilization in Denmark 1977-1981.

A description of development in the utilization pattern of cimetidine (Tagamet) in Denmark is given on the basis of 19 154 granted applications for individual drug reimbursement submitted to the National Board of Health from the initial registration of cimetidine in September 1977 until general reimbursement was introduced in July 1981. The application rate per 100 000 inhabitants increased steeply from 49 in 1978 to 148 in 1980 and decreased to 127 in 1981. Despite this rapid introduction, however, hospital utilization for ulcer disease was constant during this period.