Abstract

146 patients with chronic arsenical poisoning at Toroku, Miyazaki were studied, especially the causes of death among them. At present, 40 male (mean age 75.2 years) and 30 females (mean age 74 years) have died. The top killer disease of male patients was malignant neoplasm, especially lung cancer and it was heart diseases in females. As malignant tumors, Bowen's disease was present in 16 patients (11%) and lung cancer in 15 patients (10%) and tumors in the urinary system in 2 patients among 146 patients. Concerning the relationship between lung cancer and smoking, 6 (28.6%) patients developed lung cancer among 21 smoker patients, while 4 (4.5%) patients developed lung cancer among 88 non-smoker patients. The mean age of death among female patients with chronic arsenical poisoning was significantly shorter than that of the mean age of death in Miyazaki female inhabitants, and it is assumed that this was due to the heart diseases of the female patients.