Psychiatric social epidemiology in Cuba. II: Issues in morbidity and mortality

Abstract

This article explores social epidemiological issues in the morbidity of psychiatric dysfunction, and in the mortality associated with socioenvironmental stress in Cuba. It builds on a review of the contribution of factors such as social status and social integration or marginality in a revolutionary society. This article explores relevant issues in the epidemiology of heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, accidents, homicide, and suicide mortality. The review suggests a pattern of increasing epidemiological costs that seem to implicate the Island's process of social and economic development. These costs are contrasted to marked benefits in several domains, which appear to respond to economic democracy, and to effective planning and policy development.