Premium
Prostate cancer mortality among catholic priests
Author(s) -
Michalek Arthur M.,
Mettlin Curtis,
Priore Roger L.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/jso.2930170205
Subject(s) - medicine , cancer , etiology , demography , prostate cancer , mortality rate , rectum , cohort , population , melanoma , lung cancer , prostate , environmental health , cancer research , sociology
To investigate the possible role of celibate lifestyles in the etiology of prostate cancer, analyses of mortality from cancers of the prostate and other sites among an average annual cohort of 6,226 Roman Catholic clergymen in New York State from 1965 through 1977 were conducted. The death certificates of 1006 (95%) priests were reviewed. Of these 156 deaths were attributable to malignant neoplasms. Clerics experienced mortality ratios of 15% less for all causes of death and 30% less for cancer mortality, given mortality patterns among New York State white males of comparable ages. Twelve deaths from prostatic cancer were observed while 19.8 were expected. This represents a mortality experience significantly less than that of the general noncelibate population. Lower mortality ratios were found also for cancers of the lung, colo‐rectum, and stomach. Higher mortality ratios were found for malignant melanoma and unspecified respiratory organs.