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Changes in Mortality at Older Ages: The Case of Spain (1975–2006)

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Mortality in an International Perspective

Part of the book series: European Studies of Population ((ESPO,volume 18))

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Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed the rise of a new and growing demographic group: the old people. This remarkable historical phenomenon is the direct result of an increase in survival rates, with more and more men and women celebrating their 85th birthday every year. As death rates fall and people live longer, the frequency distribution of age at death has shifted towards the more advanced groups, affecting a greater proportion of the population as a whole while the maximum lifespan has continued to rise. It should be emphasized that the number of octogenarians in wealthy countries grew over the course of the twentieth century, paralleled by a rise in the age of death among the very old. In the case of Spain, this trend did not happen until the 1970’s. This paper analyses the impact of mortality and the evolution of the main causes of death among Spanish old people. Special attention is paid to variations in gender-specific trends over the last three decades, looking for the most relevant causes of death. Our work focuses on three different age groups: 65–79; 80–89 and 90 older, to distinguish the diversity of trends among older people. This research has also profited from the increase in the availability of official data on both mortality and the living population at advanced ages in recent years.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The available data on causes of death only refer to the basic cause of death, which is the one reported by the corresponding INE statistics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the basic or fundamental cause of death is “(a) the disease or lesion that initiated the change of pathological events leading directly to death, or (b) the circumstances surrounding the accident or violence produced by the fatal lesion” (WHO 1997).

  2. 2.

    An ongoing project using methodology by Vallin and Meslé (1988).

  3. 3.

    This shortlist was conceived as a useful and necessary tool for the carrying out of international comparisons of mortality data, both on a regional scale and in retrospective studies and projections.

  4. 4.

    Mortality due to pancreas, rectum, anus, bladder and lymphatic cancers also increased, although their respective levels are much lower than those discussed above.

  5. 5.

    In the Eurostat classification larynx neoplasm is always linked to trachea/bronchus/lung neoplasms.

  6. 6.

    These factors have improved in Spain during the last years through the proper design and implementation of architectural barriers, both at home and outside, as well as by increasing home support services for older people. In addition, health assistance in general, including surgical interventions for the elderly, has also been improved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Servicios Sociales y Fundamentos Histórico-Jurídicos, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia—UNED, C/ Obispo Trejo, 2. 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Rosa Gómez Redondo, Juan Manuel García González & Aina Faus Bertomeu

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  1. Rosa Gómez Redondo
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  2. Juan Manuel García González
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  3. Aina Faus Bertomeu
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Correspondence to Rosa Gómez Redondo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Jon Anson

  2. Vienna Institute of Demography Wittgenstein Centre, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria

    Marc Luy

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Gómez Redondo, R., García González, J., Faus Bertomeu, A. (2014). Changes in Mortality at Older Ages: The Case of Spain (1975–2006). In: Anson, J., Luy, M. (eds) Mortality in an International Perspective. European Studies of Population, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03029-6_9

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