The Age Distribution of Tuberculosis Mortality in Northern Ireland

INTRODUCTION. IN a recent review of worlcl tuberculosis mortality, MIcDougall (1950) demiioinstrated that niortalitv has declined in most of the countries which publish reasonablv reliable statistics. Of twentv-nine countries considered, only in Portugal andl Scotland were the crude death rates less in 1937-:39 than in 1947-49. '1'he average aninual rates quoted for Northern Ireland, 91.2 and 66.7 per 100,000 of the populationi respectively, decreasedl durinig the decade by 27 per cent. a relative trend more fa-Vourable than that of England andl \Vales (21 per cent. decrease), Eire (8 per cent. (lecrease) or Scotland (4 per cent. increase). Tlhe level of the crude (leath rate in Northern Ireland was excee(led in the British Isles only by that of Eire (115.2 per 100,000) in 1937-39, but in 1947-49 not only Eire (105.5 per 100,000) but also Scotlandl (74.1 per 100,000) had higher rates. However, these crude figures take no account of the age and( sex constitutions of the populationis concerned, and are consequently liable to be misleading as comparative mealsures of the efforts to combat the disease, and it should be noted that inl most countItries a small rise in the general mortality level occurred during the war years. NORThIERN IRELAND MORTALITY'. In rable I the average annual death rates at specific ages are given lor Northern Ireland for the three periods 1925-27, 1936-38 anid 1947-49. Each sex is