Mortality differentials by cause in extreme age groups of elderly

OBJECTIVE: To identify and compare the scale of priorities in the health of young-old 60 to 69 years old and oldest-old older than 80 years individuals based on the cause of mortality in Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, from 2001 to 2011. METHODS: For this ecological study, data were obtained from the Brazilian Mortality Information System SIM and measured by Proportional Mortality PM. RESULTS: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death for both groups, with a PM of over 30%. The second most common cause among young-old individuals is neoplasm 22.9%, which only ranks as the fourth most common cause among the oldest-old 10.1%. Ill-defined causes are the second most prevalent cause among the oldest-old 17.3% and the fourth most prevalent cause among young-old individuals 9.18%. Significant differences were recorded for respiratory diseases, the digestive tract and external causes. In the case of the former, young-old individuals 12.8% exhibited PM that was twice that of the oldest-old 6.2%.They also showed values two and three times higher for the latter two causes, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study indicates the heterogeneity of the elderly, producing distinct demands for public health. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in both groups. Neoplasms, digestive diseases and external causes showed the highest amount of PM among young-old individuals, whereas ill-defined and respiratory causes were more significant among oldest-old individuals.