Postnatal mortality from meningococcal infections during the period 1950-1991 in the US

Research has been conducted on the relationship between postnatal mortality from meningococcal infections and age, using data from the US during the p eriod 1950-1991. The logarithm of mortality caused by meningococcal infecti ons fell linearly with the logarithm of age, during the interval of 1-30 ye ars for men and women in the US. The slope of this straight line is equal t o -1. The mortality from meningococcal infections is inversely proportional to the age in the US. The risk of death at age 2 is one half of the risk a t age 1, at age 3 it is one third of the risk of death at age 1, etc. up to the age of 30 in the US. The same decline was observed for the risk of dea th from congenital anomalies and pneumonia. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Irela nd Ltd. All rights reserved.