Age, Period and Cohort Analysis of Trends in Mortality From Major Diseases in Japan, 1955 to 1979: Peculiarity of the Cohort Born in the Early Showa Era

This study investigates the apparent increase in mortality rates among middle-aged Japanese males from diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, & suicide. Both period & cohort effects are taken into consideration in the quantitative analysis of mortality data obtained from the Japanese vital statistics list “B” & census data for the years 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, & 1980. It was observed that, for suicide, recent period effects strongly influence recent trends.