Mortality from lymphomas in Israel, 1950-71: the possible role of environmental factors

Mortality from malignant lymphomas among the Jewish population of Israel rose during the period 1950-71. Above the age of 50 years the annual increment exceeded that in most other countries for which data are available. The rise occurred among older adults in all population groups and among children and young adults born in Africa. It was greater among native-born than among foreign-born adults. The mortality rates among foreign-born persons varied with the continent of birth. No clear-cut relationships were found with age at immigration or period since immigration. The trends for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas parallelled those for lymphomas as a whole, but those for Hodgkin's disease varied in different population groups. The findings suggest an increase in the incidence of lymphomas, more marked among native-born than among foreign-born adults, which can be speculatively attributed to environmental factors.