American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 91, No. 4: 355-367
Copyright © 1970 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
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LUNG CANCER AMONG THE JEWS AND NON-JEWS OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, 1953–1967: MORTALITY RATES AND CIGARETTE SMOKING BEHAVIOR1
2Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Texas 77660
3Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Pittsburgh, Pa
Herman, B. (Univ. of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77550) and P. E. Enterline. Lung cancer among the Jews and non-Jews of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1953–1967: mortality rates and cigarette smoking behavior. Amer. J. Epid., 1970, 91: 355–367.—The study attempted to describe and account for the over-all lung cancer mortality pattern by religion of the Gty of Pittsburgh from 1953–1967. Cigarette smoking behavior was considered as an explanatory hypothesis. Hospital charts and telephone calls to relatives and acquaintances of the deceased, served as smoking behavior information sources. Lung cancer mortality appeared high for the Jewish female relative to her non-Jewish equal and low for the Jewish male compared with the non-Jewish male. The Jewish male and female lung cancer cases had lower proportions of "epidermoid or anaplastic" cell types comprising their total pathologies, higher proportions of nonsmokers, and apparently consumed fewer cigarettes for a shorter duration of time, on the average, than did their non-Jewish counterparts. Among males, histology and smoking behavior of the Jews suggest that their low lung cancer rate can be explained by their low rate of cigarette smoking; however, among females histology and smoking behavior of the Jews intimate that cigarette smoking may not be the reason for their high lung cancer rate. Possible explanations for the seemingly paradoxical findings among females are discussed, related to differences by religion in diagnosis and reporting; biological factors; and frequency of pulmonary metastatic adenocarcinomas.
cancer; death rate; Jews; lung neoplasms; mortality; neoplasms; smoking
1This article is based upon the dissertation submitted by the senior author for his Doctor of Science degree at the Graduate School of Public Health of the University of Pittsburgh. This research was supported by the United States Public Health Service Training Grant No. 5-T01-GM-00010-12.