Mortality trends in the populations of the RSA from causes commonly observed in developing communities, 1968-1977

Over the 10-year period 1968-1977 the mortality rate (MR) for all causes of death of Coloureds aged 5-64 years was unchanged and the mean MR was twice as high as the MR of Whites. The MR of Asians was midway between the MRs of Coloureds and Whites. Only among Whites did the MR for all causes of death decrease significantly over the 10-year period. MRs for infectious diseases in all three populations were unchanged over the 10-year period, the MR of Coloureds being 14 times as high as that of Whites. Within this International Classification of Diseases group only the MR for tuberculosis in Coloureds shows a significant decrease, but on the other hand the mean MR for tuberculosis in Coloureds was 37 times as high as the MR of Whites, and the mean MR of Asians was 8 times as high as that of Whites. There were significant decreases in MRs for rheumatic heart disease in all three populations, the decrease in MRs over the 10-year period among Asians and Coloureds being twice as fast as that among Whites. However, the mean MR of Coloureds was 3 times as high as the MR of Whites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)