[Methods to smooth mortality indicators: application to analysis of inequalities in mortality in Spanish cities [the MEDEA Project]].

Although there is some experience in the study of mortality inequalities in Spanish cities, there are large urban centers that have not yet been investigated using the census tract as the unit of territorial analysis. The coordinated project <> was designed to fill this gap, with the participation of 10 groups of researchers in Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid, Valencia, and the Basque Country.

Breast cancer mortality in Barcelona following implementation of a city breast cancer-screening program.

Background: To assess the impact that the Barcelona city breast cancer-screening program has had in the decline of mortality due to breast cancer among women aged 50-74 years, in the city of Barcelona.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study based on breast cancer deaths among women aged between 50 and 74 years residing in Barcelona between 1984 and 2004. The variables used were: age, year, and Primary Health Care District (ABS) grouped into four zones according to the year of implementation of the screening program.

[Constructing a deprivation index based on census data in large Spanish cities(the MEDEA project)].

Objectives: a) To describe the methodology used to construct a deprivation index by census tract in cities, to identify the tracts with the least favorable socioeconomic conditions, and b) to analyze the association between this index and overall mortality.

Methods: Several socioeconomic indicators (Census 2001) were defined by the census tracts of the following cities: Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Seville and Valencia. The correlations with the standardized mortality ratio (1996-2003), and the dimensionality of the socioeconomic indicators were studied.

Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality in Barcelona: a study based on census tracts (MEDEA Project).

The aim of this study is to describe inequalities in socioeconomic indicators and in mortality by sex in the census tracts of Barcelona city during the period 1996-2003. The results show that there is excess mortality in coastal and northern areas. This distribution is similar to that of socioeconomic deprivation and therefore there is an association between mortality and socioeconomic indicators, not only for total mortality but also for the specific causes of death studied.

[Trends in social inequalities in pregnancy care in Barcelona (Spain), 1994-97 versus 2000-03].

Objective: To describe and compare social inequalities in pregnancy care among pregnant women living in Barcelona (Spain) in 2 periods.

Methods: Two 4-year periods were compared: 1994-1997 and 2000-2003. The study population consisted of pregnant women living in Barcelona and the control sample was drawn from the Barcelona Birth Defects Registry (n = 905 in 1994-1997; n = 927 in 2000-2003).

Maternal smoking, social class and outcomes of pregnancy.

Exposure to tobacco during pregnancy is an important risk factor for infant health. Recently the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy has declined in our area. The objective of this study was to analyse the association between several social variables and the fetal exposure to smoking, as well as the association between maternal smoking and some adverse gestational outcomes.

[Evaluation of the primary health care reform: preventive practices and inequalities].

Objective: To evaluate primary care reform (PCR) in Barcelona during the year 2000 using 3 preventive practices: anti-smoking advice, blood pressure measurement, and flu vaccination. Any inequalities of gender, age, or social class in receiving these practices are also assessed.

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive, observational study.

[Socioeconomic inequalities in the provision and uptake of prenatal care].

Objective: To describe socioeconomic inequalities in the provision and uptake of prenatal care among women in Barcelona (Spain) between 1994 and 2003.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of women in Barcelona who delivered a child without birth defects. Information was obtained from hospital medical records and a personal interview with women included in the Barcelona Birth Defects Registry, containing a random sample of 2% of all pregnant women in the city (n = 2299).