[The natural experiment--health systems with special reference to prevention in East germany and West Germany]

Even now, decades after the partition, the GDR and the FRG have a few things in common besides many differences in their Public Health systems. Although the roots were originally common and date back to a time long before von Bismarck was at the helm of German affairs, the differences that are now in evidence have evolved under the influence of different politicocultural systems-a natural experiment. This situation is now reviewed in the following article, although very little literature or current comparable data are available. Particular emphasis in this review is on preventive care.