TY - JOUR
T1 - Mortality of parents of children with cancer
T2 - A population-based study in Turin, Italy
AU - Mosso, Maria Luisa
AU - Magnani, Corrado
AU - Pastore, Guido
AU - Terracini, Benedetto
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - Aims and background: A cohort study was conducted in order to measure cause-specific mortality among parents of children recorded in the Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont. It is the first study carried out on the subject in southern Europe. Methods and study design: The study comprised the 740 children resident in Turin and in whom a cancer had been diagnosed in the period 1957-1991. Nominal data were obtained for 723 fathers and 733 mothers. At the end of the follow-up in 1995, 645 fathers were alive, 68 dead and 10 untraceable. Corresponding figures for mothers were 700, 28 and 5. Cause of death was known for 91 of 96 parents. Results: The period of observation of parents started on the birth of the index child, however mortality analyses were restricted to the period after 1965 because of limited availability of local reference rates. Total mortality was lower than expected among fathers (66 observed deaths vs 88.2 expected, P <0.05) and mothers (28 vs 31.4). Fathers showed deficits (not statistically significant) of lung neoplasms (4 vs 9.9), cardiovascular diseases (18 vs 27.1) and hepatic cirrhosis (2 vs 6.6). No statistically significant variations in mortality were observed with time from diagnosis or according to life status of the children. No cancer deaths occurred among the mothers of sarcoma cases whereas 1.9 were expected. Conclusions: The data do not indicate any increase in mortality from cancer or other causes and, on the contrary, show a reduction in mortality which was more evident for the causes related to life style.
AB - Aims and background: A cohort study was conducted in order to measure cause-specific mortality among parents of children recorded in the Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont. It is the first study carried out on the subject in southern Europe. Methods and study design: The study comprised the 740 children resident in Turin and in whom a cancer had been diagnosed in the period 1957-1991. Nominal data were obtained for 723 fathers and 733 mothers. At the end of the follow-up in 1995, 645 fathers were alive, 68 dead and 10 untraceable. Corresponding figures for mothers were 700, 28 and 5. Cause of death was known for 91 of 96 parents. Results: The period of observation of parents started on the birth of the index child, however mortality analyses were restricted to the period after 1965 because of limited availability of local reference rates. Total mortality was lower than expected among fathers (66 observed deaths vs 88.2 expected, P <0.05) and mothers (28 vs 31.4). Fathers showed deficits (not statistically significant) of lung neoplasms (4 vs 9.9), cardiovascular diseases (18 vs 27.1) and hepatic cirrhosis (2 vs 6.6). No statistically significant variations in mortality were observed with time from diagnosis or according to life status of the children. No cancer deaths occurred among the mothers of sarcoma cases whereas 1.9 were expected. Conclusions: The data do not indicate any increase in mortality from cancer or other causes and, on the contrary, show a reduction in mortality which was more evident for the causes related to life style.
KW - Cardiovascular diseases
KW - Childhood
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Genetic
KW - Neoplasm
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033400965&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/030089169908500604
DO - 10.1177/030089169908500604
M3 - Article
SN - 0300-8916
VL - 85
SP - 443
EP - 448
JO - Tumori
JF - Tumori
IS - 6
ER -