Abstract

Age adjusted mortality rates for the 1969– 1971 adult population in the United States reveal a consistent pattern of 13% excess cancer mortality in the metropolitan counties with central cities compared to nonmetropolitan counties. Only 14% of all cancer death exhibit a different pattern. A detailed analysis of cancer mortality in Cuyahoga County, (Cleveland), Ohio, during the years 1969–1971, shows that apart from cancer mortality of the respiratory tract, general air pollution characteristics correlate secondarily with mortality, compared with socioeconomic factors.