© 2006 American Public Health Association DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.053983
Enrique Regidor, Cruz Pascual, David Martínez, María Elisa Calle, and Vicente Domínguez are with the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. Elena Ronda is with the Department of Public Health, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. Correspondence: Request for reprints should sent to Enrique Regidor, PhD, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain (e-mail: enriqueregidor{at}hotmail.com).
Objectives. We examined the evolution of income inequalities and health inequalities in Spain from the time of the countrys entry into the European Union. Methods. We estimated distributions of provincial income and household income, relations of provincial income with mortality and disability, and relations of household income with disability in 19841986 and 19992001. Results. Inequalities in average provincial income and household income were lower in 2000 than in 1985. Differences in mortality and disability according to income were greater in 2000 than in 1985, in both absolute and relative terms, except for differences in mortality among individuals aged 25 to 44 years. In most cases, differences in mortality from leading causes of death and differences in major types of disabilities were also greater in 2000. Conclusions. Our results show that redistribution of income might achieve greater social justice but probably does not lead to reduced health inequalities, despite observed improvements in material circumstances as well as in most health indicators among disadvantaged population groups. This article has been cited by other articles:
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