Mortality and the 1974 fuel crisis

SOME comment is needed on the report by Brown et al. 1 in which the authors claim that the low mortality they noted in San Francisco and Alameda Counties in the first quarter of 1974 might have arisen from the reduction of gasoline sales during the fuel crisis. This is an interesting proposition, but the further details that the authors are examining on the more usual determinants of seasonal and secular variations in mortality (weather conditions and the prevalence of respiratory infections), and on urban/rural comparisons will be required before any judgment can be made on possible cause-and-effect relationships. In the meantime we make a few comments on their work, and present some related data from Britain.