Aim

To estimate the effect of age, period, and birth cohort on mortality from oral and oropharyngeal cancer in Brazil.

Methods

Deaths due to oral and oropharyngeal cancer from 1983 to 2017 were analyzed. The effect of age, period, and cohort was calculated using the Poisson regression model.

Results

Between 1983 and 2017, 142,634 deaths were recorded from oral and oropharyngeal cancer in Brazil, 54% from oropharyngeal cancer. The male sex contributed to 81% of the deaths. The average mortality rate for men was 4.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, and for women, it was 0.9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. There was a strong effect of age on mortality rates from oral and oropharyngeal cancer. The risk increases from 40 years of age in men and 55 years of age in women. An overall period effect was observed. The 2000 period showed the greatest risk when compared to the 1985 period in men. In women, the period of highest risk was 2010. The cohorts born between 1958 and 1962 had a higher risk of death.

Conclusions

The period effect is mainly attributed to mortality from oropharyngeal cancer. Most significant values regarding the effect on the cohort groups were observed in female mortality from oral cancer.