Background: To compare socio-economic differences in mortality from ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease in men in Spain and France during the 1988-90 period.
Methods: In Spain, the data were taken from the Eight Provinces Study, and in France the number of deaths was provided by the French National Health Institute(INSERM). The socio-economic differences in mortality have been estimated through the rate ratio.
Results: Farmers and manual workers presented higher mortality from ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease than the professional and managerial group, while mortality in service workers showed a different pattern in both countries.
Conclusions: The use of two occupational classes (manual/non manual) in international comparisons limits the interpretation of the results in this kind of studies.