[Digestive cancer mortality in a Mediterranean urban area (Barcelona, 1983-1987)]

This study presents the main epidemiologic features of general, site and age-specific, and premature mortality due to digestive cancer in Barcelona residents in the 1983-87 period, selecting death certificates where digestive cancer was coded as the primary cause of death (codes 150 to 159 of the ICD-9). Eight percent (6,269) of all deaths were due to malignant neoplasms of the digestive system, representing 30.3% of all deaths due to neoplasms. The main contribution was due to gastric cancer (18.8 cases per 100,000) and colon cancer (17.2 per 100,000), followed by rectal cancer (8.8 per 100,000) and pancreatic cancer (8.7 per 100,000). The annual increase in colon cancer among women--where it is the main digestive cancer site was statistically significant. Premature deaths due to digestive cancer yielded 3.5 years of potential life lost per 1,000 people (21.8% of all premature cancer deaths). In men, most cases of these premature deaths were due to gastric cancer (24.3%), while in women premature deaths were more often due to colon cancer (25.3%). Excess mortality due to esophagus, stomach and liver cancer was observed in Ciutat Vella, the most socioeconomically deprived district in Barcelona.