Different spatial pattern of municipal prostate cancer mortality in younger men in Spain

BackgroundProstate cancer (PC) primarily affects elderly men. However, the specific features of cases diagnosed at younger ages (MethodsThe Spanish National Institute of Statistics supplied data on PC mortality, hospital admission, and population data. We estimated the expected town-specific number of deaths and calculated the standardized mortality ratios. Spatial autoregressive models of Besag-York-Mollié provided smoother municipal estimators of PC mortality risk (all ages; ResultsA total of 29,566 PC deaths (6% among those ConclusionThe consistent high PC mortality/morbidity risk in the Northwest of Spain indicates an area with a real excess of risk. The different spatial pattern in younger men suggests that some factors associated with geographical risk might have differential effects by age. Finally, the regional divergences in mortality and morbidity hint at clinical variability as a source of inequity within Spain.