Deprivation and stroke mortality in Quebec

Cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) constitute an important cause of disability and death in Quebec. Among the primary CVA risk factors, certain socioeconomic characteristics of individuals and living environments appear to play a central role. The purpose of this article is to examine the links between material/social forms of deprivation and CVA mortality in a group of 4,339 individuals aged 25 to 74 years who died between 1994 and 1998. The socioeconomic profile of these persons was estimated on the basis of the enumeration area in which they resided. The Poisson regression technique was used to estimate the relative risk (RR) of mortality by deprivation level. Our results show the presence of a mortality gradient for both material and social forms of deprivation, where the relative risks of mortality of the most disadvantaged group and the most advantaged group are, respectively, 1.34 and 1.35. Despite the existence of a system of universal health care, inequalities in mortality persist and need to be taken into account when implementing intervention programs.