Causes of death and life expectancies among dentists

Abstract

The standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were obtained for dentists in Tokyo according to the causes of their deaths, in order to compare them with those for general Tokyo citizens. Furthermore, an abridged life table was prepared and those dentists' life expectancies were estimated. The materials used were 560 death certificates for male dentists issued in the 10-year period 1985-1994. The documents were kept at the Health Insurance Co-operative Society for Tokyo Dentists, run by the Tokyo Dental Association (TDA). With the general Tokyo residents as a reference population, the SMRs for dentists were significantly higher for oesophageal and colon cancers and significantly lower for heart diseases and pneumonia/bronchitis. The life expectancy for a 25-year-old dentist in Tokyo was 51.26 years. That at birth was stochastically estimated at 75.37 years, which was some one year shorter than that for an ordinary inhabitant (76.67 years), though the difference was insignificant.