1. Ministry of;et aL, Collins;Health; National Center for Health Statistics, 1966 Metropolitan Life,1955
2. A recent published study (Raguveer-Saran and Keddie, 1980) have demonstrated a falling incidence of appendicitis in England and Wales. If this is true, the figures given in Table 4 and the present results are more easy to interpret due to the time interval between the present and previous studies. However, as pointed out by Jessop,1981
3. Department of Health and Social Security, 1974) calls 'unqualified' appendicitis, and that the number of cases with acute appendicitis showed no marked changes during the time period. Thus, without further longitudinal studies, it is difficult to accept a statement of a true falling;Security,1973
4. Soreide incidence of appendicitis, although some older (Castleton, Puestow and Sauer, 1959; Verda and Platt, 1958; Larsen, 1962) and a more recent (Arnbj0rnsson, Asp and Weston, 1982) support the theory of a decreasing frequency of the disease. The sex variation with female dominance in the age group 5-44 as reported previously (Lee, 1961; Metropolitan Life Statistical Bulletin, 1969; Pflanz, 1978) cannot be confirmed. Cultural or other factors;true,1974
5. The third factor which may explain the reduction in incidence rates is the demographic changes which occur with a dramatic increase in the proportion of older people. As the incidence of appendicitis is low in the oldest, the demographic changes may reduce the crude incidence of the disease. Although it is impossible, as also reported by Arnbj0rnsson et aL,1982