Cancer (Orkney Islands)

HC Deb 23 July 1979 vol 971 cc45-6W

Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the incidence of cancer on the Orkney Islands differs from the national average.

Mr. Fairgrieve

The average annual incidence of cancer in males in Scotland between 1974 and 1977 was 359 per 100,000 population and in Orkney 409 per 100,000 population; when adjustment is made to allow for differences in the age structure between Orkney and Scotland—normal age standardisation—the average annual incidence for males in Orkney falls to 323 per 100,000. For females the average incidence over the same period was 344 for Scotland and 375 for Orkney; with the adjustment for age the Orkney rate becomes 351.