HEALTH-STATUS DIFFERENTIALS IN THE PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA

Objectives. This study sought to demonstrate that health status varies markedly in different parts of China. Methods. The main source of dat a was statistics compiled by the Chinese Ministry for Public Health fo r 1978 to 1990 regarding causes of death. However, because mortality s tatistics in China are based on localities that have the capacity to p rovide data, they are not entirely representative. The international c lassification of disease categories was also used, together with anato mically based disease descriptions. Rates were calculated using the 19 82 and 1990 population censuses. Results. Death rates differ markedly between urban and rural areas. Deaths due to infectious diseases, resp iratory diseases, pregnancy and childbirth, and injuries and poisoning are much higher in rural areas; those due to pertussis, desentery, ty phoid, hepatitis, rabies, and anthrax are much more common in the appa rently poorer provinces. Schistosomiasis remains a major problem in so me provinces. Goiter and cretinism are still major diseases in many pa rts of China, especially those areas with iodine deficiency. Conclusio ns: Cause-of-death patterns in Chinese cities are similar to those of industrially developed countries such as Australia, Japan, and the Uni ted States, Such patterns in the poorer rural areas are much more typi cal of those of developing countries.