Mortality among the elderly in urban areas of Brazil: socio-economic consequences

Neir A. Paes, Federal University of Paraiba - Brazil

The main goal is to examine trends, differentials and determinants of the main causes of the urban elderly mortality in Brazil from 1990 to 2000 and find out associations with socioeconomic indicators as well as present some socioeconomic consequences for 2000 by sex. The 28 capital cities were taken as a proxy of the urban population. They were classified according to the quality of the registry of deaths, which were taken from Ministry of Health and Standardized Mortality Rates by causes were calculated by age and sex. Mortality rates by causes showed a mixed picture and a sex-gap emerged with a larger decline in female mortality. The trends suggest a predominance of chronic-degenerative diseases. Although it was found significant associations between mortality risks and socioeconomic variables, and in despite the regional differences, there are not strong evidences that the pattern of mortality are different for capital cities.