In order to determine mortality predictors among individuals aged 60 years and over, a survival study was conducted in 1992 by tracking a population of elders who participated in a general self-rated morbidity survey in 1983/84, in Botucatu, SP - Brazil. Kaplan-Meier estimates and the Cox proportional hazards method, available in SPSS and SAS statistical packages (v. 6.12), were used to analyze survival. The following mortality predictors were found for males (p<0.05): being 70 years or older: Hazard Ratio (HR)=2.4 (1.6 - 3.7); earning one or less than one minimum wage: HR=2.2 (1.3 - 3.8); having other income: HR=2.2 (1.3 - 3.9); being the head of the household: HR=2.3 (1.2 - 2.4); self-rated morbidity due to circulatory diseases: HR=1.6 (1.1 - 2.4) and diabetes mellitus: HR=3.0 (1.3 - 7.0). Mortality predictors for females were the following: being 70 years or older: HR (4.6 (3.0 - 7.1); self-rated morbidity due to diabetes mellitus: HR=3.0 (1.7 - 5.3); and having other income: HR=2.0 (1.1 - 4.0).
Survival; Aged; Mortality
