Some spatial variations in South African mortality.

This article focuses on the difficulty in monitoring differences in health status in South Africa based on subsectors of the population. Morbidity data is not routinely published except for notifiable diseases. National mortality data is available but lack accurate recording among rural Africans. During 1984-86 in urban areas Africans and Coloreds had higher than the expected number of deaths from each cause of death. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were significantly higher for urban Africans compared to urban Coloreds and Whites for tuberculosis cancer of the cervix pneumonia and bronchitis and abdominal hernia. Rural Coloreds compared to urban Coloreds had higher SMRs for tuberculosis cancer of the cervix hypertensive disease and abdominal hernia. Whites in urban and rural areas had SMRS below 100 for each cause of death. Whites living in rural areas had significantly lower SMRs for pneumonia and bronchitis. The causes of death were all treatable. The findings indicate a well-known racial inequality in mortality rates and urban-rural differences by cause. Future systems of data collection on health should be stratified by socioeconomic and demographic factors.