Fig 7.

Number of mesotheslioma deaths among males 1968-2001⁷⁹. Thirteen cases of mesothelioma were described from Belfast in 1958⁴. Currently 60-92 patients die each year from mesothelioma in Northern Ireland⁷⁸. Figures shown here, for men by decade of age of death, are for the rest of the United Kingdom for the years 1968 to 2001. Fifteen percent of deaths were in women (not shown), but the age distribution for females is essentially the same. Note the small number of deaths in men (and women) under 50 years of age, reflecting the long latency of the effects of inhalation of asbestos⁷⁹.