CAUSES OF DEATH IN JAPANESE DIABETIC-PATIENTS EXAMINED BY AUTOPSY

Autopsy records have been published annually by the Japan Society of P athology. We collected diabetic autopsy cases from these records (1958 -1985) and analysed the causes of death. Vascular diseases comprised 3 8-48% of all causes of death, malignant neoplasms 16-23% and infection s 16-23%. Among vascular diseases, the incidence of coronary artery di seases has increased from 6.0 to 17%, but the frequency of nephropathy and cerebrovascular diseases has remained relatively stable since 197 0. Diabetic coma and tuberculosis has decreased as a cause of death, w hile vascular diseases and malignant neoplasm have increased during th ese periods. These changes reflect the trend of changing disease struc ture in the general population, which is partly due to the changes in age distribution of the population.