Use of the Canadian mortality data base for epidemiological follow-up

Epidemiological follow-up of large cohorts exposed to potentially harmful agents and circumstances has been facilitated in Canada by the development of a file of information on all deaths in the country back to 1950. This Mortality Data Base is designed to be searched by computer and to yield both dates and underlying causes of deaths among members of a study population. Current and future major uses are described. Most of the studies relate to groups of persons numbering in the tens to hundreds of thousands. The studies are concerned with the long-term consequences of various occupations, medical treatments and diagnostic procedures, and circumstances of other kinds which may contribute to deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease and other causes. The industrial groups studied include uranium miners and radiation workers, while the medical patients include persons exposed repeatedly to fluoroscopic x-rays. Demands for such uses of the Mortality Data Base have increased rapidly since its establishment