Dossier n. 257/2016 [Abstract] Atlas of mortality in Emilia-Romagna. 2009-2013

The analysis of mortality is since long time a fundamental aspect of epidemiological research and represents a global health indicator. It allows to study the distribution of the most lethal pathologies in populations as well as to hypothesize causal relationships between risk factor and disease.

The aim of this publication is to analyze the mortality phenomenon in Emilia-Romagna, updated to 2013, through appropriate and various synthesis tools, commonly used for tracking mortality profiles within a region and for analyzing temporal and spatial evolution.

Hence, this volume has mainly a descriptive character, but it can nonetheless rise questions on the reasons of particular geographical, temporal, sex and age distributions; it can also support decision-makers to identify appropriate health policies and interventions.

The Atlas updates the previous edition, while basically maintaining the same structure and layout. Compared to the previous edition, the main changes are represented by using exclusively the ICD-10 for deaths occurring in the period 2009-2013; by utilising an updated regional map after the passage of the Alta Valmarecchia municipalities form the Marche to the Emilia-Romagna Region; by analysing further causes of death; by aggregating two or more cases in a single chapter and by favouring graphical representations over tabular ones (which now appear in the Appendix ), due to their ease in interpreting the phenomenon.

The publication proposes the analysis of mortality by cause of death for the population living in Emilia-Romagna from 1981 to 2013, subdivided in 38 chapters ideally structured in two sections: the first section is dedicated to the general and cancer mortality; the second section is dedicated to the mortality from other causes and injuries.

The results are aggregated by sex (male, female and total), by the latest available year (2013), by five-year periods, by municipality, by Local Health District and by the Greater area of residence.

Each chapter, after a summary of the key results and a table synthesizing the principal mortality indicators regarding the year 2013, is divided in paragraphs according to the kind of comparison illustrated:

• Comparison by age and sex. The distribution of the mortality, in absolute terms, is illustrated graphically by age-class and sex for the year 2013, and the trend of the age- and sex-specific mortality rates over five-year periods, from 1984-1988 to 2009-2013.
• Temporal mortality trend. The graphic summary of the regional (1981-2013) and national (1981-2011) trend and the comparison between the region and the Greater Area of residence (1987-2013) are illustrated both for males and females.
• Comparison among different areas of the region. The standardized mortality rates of the year 2013 are presented graphically on regional and Local Health Authority level, firstly by decreasing order of the indicator value; secondly by maps of the estimated relative risk (BMR) for the period 2009-2013; and finally by maps on the percentage change of the BMR by Municipality between the quinquennium 2009-2013 versus the previous one 2004-2008. The data is presented combined and separated by sex.