01606nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002800055653001900083653001100102653002600113653002600139653002600165653001100191653001200202653001100214653002100225653001200246653000900258653001400267653001300281653001700294100001600311245004700327300001000374490000600384520088800390022001401278       1980                            d  c1980 Dec10aCardiovascular Diseases10aEchinococcosis10aFemale10aHistory, 18th Century10aHistory, 19th Century10aHistory, 20th Century10aHumans10aIceland10aInfant10aInfant Mortality10aleprosy10aMale10aMortality10aSmallpox10aTuberculosis1 aBjarnason O00aCauses of death in a subarctic population.  a355-90 v13 a<p>Some of the main causes of death prior to 1900 are mentioned, including disastrous epidemics of high mortality such as plague, smallpox and the so-called hunger epidemics. Also discussed are two chronic diseases remarkable for Iceland in old times i.e., leprosy and hydatid disease. In the first third of the 20th century, infectious diseases still were the main cause of death in Iceland. The importance of tuberculosis in this connection is stressed. The very high infant mortality up to the beginning of this century is stressed. The changes in the main causes of death in the last decades are described and the growing influence of degenerative vascular diseases and cancer in that connection pointed out. Last, the remarkable fall in the infant mortality and increasing life expectancy from the beginning of this century with growing prosperity of the nation is stressed.</p>  a0195-7910