DEATH IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH-CAROLINA - A RETROSPECTIVE

Over the past 324 years, Charleston, South Carolina, has triumphed ove r rampant infectious disease only to be overcome by more modern plague s: heart disease, neoplasia, homicide, and suicide. Examination of dea th records of the state of South Carolina, Charleston City, and Charle ston County provides us with a glimpse of the medical challenges of ou r recent past; it also reminds us of the scourges that still ravage un derdeveloped countries. The 18th- and 19th-century South Carolinians w ere besieged by tuberculosis, diarrhea, and a myriad of fevers. These diseases, though prevalent in other parts of the world, result in limi ted mortality in the 20th-century United States. A review of the histo ric trends in mortality in Charleston is presented; current significan t causes of death, with emphasis on recent trends in homicide, are als o discussed.