Epidemiology of oral cancer in Connecticut, 1935 to 1985

Abstract

All cases of oral cancer (N = 9708) recorded by the Connecticut Tumor Registry from 1935 to 1985 were analyzed for time‐trend patterns within 10‐year age‐groups. Crude, age‐specific, age‐adjusted incidence rates and birth cohort analyses were calculated. The average annual age‐adjusted incidence rate was 12.9/100,000 for men and 2.9/100,000 for women (1970 US standard million population). The male age‐adjusted incidence rate decreased 33% from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. The female age‐adjusted incidence rate exhibited a threefold steady increase over this same time period. The male/female ratio for oral cancer incidence declined dramatically from 10.4 to 2.7 for the age‐adjusted rate, nearly a fourfold decrease during the 51‐ year period. Birth cohort analyses for women indicated a marked increase in oral cancer incidence for the birth cohort of 1900, which was sustained in the birth cohorts that followed. Birth cohort analyses for men revealed a decline in oral cancer incidence for birth cohorts born after 1910. The highest incidence rates were found in the urban counties and the lowest in the rural areas.