Health inequalities and historically persistent socioeconomic differences in Venice.

Abstract Objective Venice is one of the most known and visited town worldwide, but little health information is available on its population. Methods Since 2001 a census-based record linkage longitudinal study has been developed with the goal of monitoring health profiles in small areas. Standardised Mortality, Incidence, Prevalence ratios for the most relevant diseases were computed adjusting by gender, age and education. Results The overall results detected worse health outcomes in the islands population particularly in Pellestrina, Giudecca and Castello. Conclusion The venetian longitudinal study detected large health inequities mainly within the very small population of the historical town which appear influenced by socio economic differences which in a unique town like Venice, for centuries unmodified by urbanistic changes, appear to persist over time.