NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/sci/med/14461

Internet Message Format | 1992-07-25 | 3.0 KB

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From: [e-mail] [Rich Young] (x37176)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: 60 Minutes-Heart Disease & The French
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 25 Jul 92 15:53:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: pixel.1992Jul25.155342.8847
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
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Organization: Clinical Products Division, Eastman Kodak Company
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Originator: young@sasquatch

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Glenn Stone) writes:

>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>
>Thanks for posting this.  A few questions:
>
>
>>    "Before you pick up your glass, however, consider that French men
>>    are three times more likely to die of cancer of the esophagus, that
>>    both French men and women are more than twice as likely to die of
>>    stomach cancer, and that both types of cancer are linked to alcohol
>>    consumption.  '60 Minutes' never makes that point.  Nor does the
>>    TV program point out that excessive alcohol consumption is also
>>    the cause of cirrhosis of the liver, which may have something to
>>    do with the fact that the French die of cirrhosis and chronic liver
>>    disease at almost two times the rate of Americans."
>
>We'd need to know the actual mortality rates for these ailments that
>are "twice as likely".  If they're really low than it doesn't mean
>much.  Two per million is twice as high as one per million.

   Don't know about the stomach and esophagus, but I have data which says
   that an estimated 8,150 people died of "oral" cancer in 1991 in the U.S.
   Number courtesy of the American Cancer Society by way of The World
   Almanac.

   As for cirrhosis, the National Center for Health Statistics says that,
   in 1988, an estimated 26,080 died of "cirrhosis and other liver disease."
   Since the population of the U.S. is roughly 250 million, that would be
   slightly more than .01 percent of the population, or 104 deaths per
   million in the U.S. from cirrhosis and other liver disease.

   I do apologize for not having better data, but perhaps the cirrhosis
   numbers might be useful.  Besides, _I_ didn't write the article, so I
   don't feel particularly obliged to defend it.

[...remainder of comments deleted...]

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Rich Young                             | Phone: [phone]
Eastman Kodak Company                  | FAX: [phone]
Clinical Products Division             | Internet: [e-mail]
100 Carlson Road                       |
Rochester, New York, USA   14653-9122  | These are MY opinions, not Kodak's!!!
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Don't get angry, get accurate information.