• Puri Magán Tapia, Angel Alberquilla Menéndez-Asenjo, Juan Manuel Ribera Casado, and Angel Otero Puime.
• Cátedra de Familia UAM/Novartis. Facultad de Medicina de la UAM. Madrid. España. puri.magan@uam.es
• Aten Primaria. 2006 Nov 15; 38 (8): 443449443-9.

ObjectiveTo 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.DesignObservational, retrospective, and ecological-style study.SettingDistricts and boroughs in Health Area 11 of the Community of Madrid, Spain.ParticipantsPeople aged 65 and over.Main MeasurementsThe 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionsThe 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.

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