Report of the national institute on aging task force on comorbidity.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology (GCG) Program convened an interdisciplinary Task Force on Comorbidity to foster the development of a research agenda on the multiple concurrent health problems that often occur in older persons. This report summarizes Task Force discussions held in Bethesda, Maryland (October 21–22, 2003; July 20–21, 2004) and serves as an introduction to the following three articles that address specific issues such as the nosological classification of impairment for the construction of comorbidity measures, staging and classification of disease severity, and methodological and analytical issues. The risk of developing concomitant chronic illnesses and physiological limitations escalates with aging.

Population aging and cancer: a cross-national concern.

Although malignant tumors occur at all ages, cancer disproportionately strikes individuals in the age group 65 years and older. Data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program for the most recent five-year period, 1998-2002, reveal that 56% of all newly diagnosed cancer patients and 71% of cancer deaths are in this age group. Median ages of cancer patients at death for the major tumors common to both males and females, all races (lung, colorectal, lymphoma, leukemia, pancreas, stomach, urinary bladder) range from 71 to 77 years.

Age and comorbidity impact surgical therapy in older bladder carcinoma patients: a population-based study.

Background: Bladder carcinoma often occurs in older patients who also may have other comorbid conditions that could influence the administration of surgical therapy. The current study was conducted to describe the distribution of comorbid conditions in patients with bladder carcinoma and ascertain whether these conditions, as grouped by the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification, affected the choice of surgical therapy.

Methods: The authors examined six population-based cancer registries from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program in 1992.

Cancer in older persons: an international issue in an aging world.

Persons age 65 years and older bear the greater burden of cancer in the United States and other industrial nations. A cross-national perspective using data from several population-based resources (eg, the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program; US Bureau of Census; World Health Organization; and International Association for Research on Cancer) illustrates current and future demographic transitions in America in comparison with six industrial nations, and profiles cancer mortality in older persons across the selected nations--Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and United Kingdom. Mortality rates, age-standardized to the world population, are presented for major tumors.

Cancer survivors in the United States: age, health, and disability.

Background: Relatively little is known about the health and disability of adult cancer survivors. As a way to explore these issues, data from the National Health Interview Survey (years 1998-2000) were analyzed.

Methods: Comparisons were made between cancer survivors (n = 4878) and those without a history of cancer (n = 90,737), using both descriptive statistics and logistic-regression models on general health status, psychological disability, limitations in activities of daily living, physical function, and health-related ability to work.

Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1973-1999, featuring implications of age and aging on U.S. cancer burden.

Background: The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, collaborated to provide an annual update on cancer occurrence and trends in the United States. This year's report contained a special feature focusing on implications of age and aging on the U.S.

Contrasts in cancer prevalence in Connecticut, Iowa, and Utah.

Background: Cancer prevalence--the proportion of a population with cancer, including those recently diagnosed, those in treatment, and survivors--is an important indicator of future health care requirements. Only limited information on cancer prevalence is available for the United States. In particular, comparative interstate studies are not available.