[Significance of major factors forming the demographic setting]

The time course of changes in ambient air pollution was hygienically estimated, socioeconomic factors (n = 31) and level of health care delivery (20 factors) were studied in selected towns (a city numbering over million dwellers, a large industrial center, and an average numbered administrative town). The factors forming the population's health were stratified in score, by taking into account the weighting factors (Delhi's method) in relation to the values of an administrative town, which were taken as 1 (one). The authors are the first to show that in industrial centers, natural health losses are chiefly determined by the influence of polluted ambient air (3.4 and 2.3 scores versus 1.0 score in the administrative town). There were virtually no differences in socioeconomic conditions (1.1 and 1.0 score). The quality of health care provision is higher in the million-numbered city (1.6 scores) and in large town (1.2 scores). The specific contribution of factors to the demographic setting was defined under specific conditions.