[Differences in mortality in the over-65s in a health area of the community of Madrid].

Objective: To detect the possible differences in risk of mortality of the population aged 65 and over in Health Area 11 of the Community of Madrid and to explore their relationship with economic factors.

Design: Observational, retrospective, and ecological-style study.

Setting: Districts and boroughs in Health Area 11 of the Community of Madrid, Spain.

Participants: People aged 65 and over.

Main Measurements: The analysed variable was the total deaths occurring in the study population during the period 1996-2001. The standardized mortality rate (SMR) was calculated. As a social/economic indicator, mean available income, stratified in 3 groups, was used. The statistical method used was Poisson regression.

Results: The mortality rates oscillated between 37.33 and 91.54 deaths for every thousand inhabitants (SMR ratio, 2.47). In urban areas, in men with level 2 income, mortality was 16% less (P=.0406) than the reference group, whereas in high-income men it was 20% less (P=.0042). In women the rate was about 8% less, though this did not attain statistical significance (P=.3039). The relationship in semi-rural areas was not demonstrated.

Conclusions: The existence of inequalities in the mortality of the population aged 65 or over was demonstrated. There was an inverse relationship between mean available income and mortality in urban areas.