Mesothelioma: Trends Based on Age

According to statistical data published by The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
the number of deaths from mesothelioma during the period of 1999 through 2005 was the highest within the age group ranges of 65 through 74 with a total of 5,268 deaths and 75 through 84 with a total of 6,862 deaths. The median age of death from malignant mesothelioma was 74 years-old during this period. Mortality rates in the older age group ranges may be primarily due to the extensive latency period that may range from 10 to 40 years or more. A person may breathe in asbestos fibers for several decades before the disease finally surfaces and is diagnosed.
Another reason that the older age group ranges may be more susceptible to malignant mesothelioma diagnoses and death is that the use of asbestos was more commonly used in a wide range of materials and occupations during most of the 1900s in the United States. As the populations that worked in those asbestos-related industries aged, the mortality rates in the older age groups have risen.
The statistical data from the CDC also states that a total of 18,083 people across all age groups died from malignant mesothelioma between the years of 1999 to 2005. The age group ranges with the lowest mortality rates during this period were ages 15 through 24 with a total of 15 deaths and ages 25 through 34 with a total of 51 deaths.