This study is concerned with the relationships between geographic factors and mortality from external causes, such as environmental pollution, nutrition, and socioeconomic factors. It is based on Italian data on the mortality of adult males aged 25 years and over. The results show that "degenerative diseases, from middle age onwards, are typical sicknesses of the more highly industrialised and richer areas, [particularly] where economic development has not been accompanied by action to preserve the environment from pollution. Diseases which medical and therapeutic progress have rendered almost harmless continue to strike the populations of the poorer areas, where adequate hygienic and sanitary structures are lacking." (summary in ENG, ITA)
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