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[The analysis of mortality in urban areas]
1Departament de Ciències Mèdiques Bàsiques, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Barcelona.
Background:
To investigate health status inequalities in small urban areas, using mortality differences between districts of Reus (pop. 85000), Spain.
Methods:
For the period 1986-1988, data from the Civil Register and from death certificates issued indicated 1521 valid cases. Infant mortality, adjusted mortality indices (AMI) and years of potential life lost (YPLL) were calculated for the 17 groups of cause-of-death based on the International Classification of Diseases and Preventable Causes of Death. Both indicators (AMI and YPLL) were studied for each district and for the city as a whole. The exact confidence limits for the Standard Mortality Ratio were calculated.
Results:
Although AMI and YPLL gave results that were quantitatively very different, districts IV and VIII consistently had the worst indices while districts II and VI had the best.
Conclusion:
Archive data over a period of several years together with exact calculation methods, can demonstrate inequalities in health or in socioeconomic conditions even in small areas. These methods may also be useful in delineating different urban living areas.