Asthma deaths in Scotland 1965-1980.

From 1965 the fall in asthma mortality in Scotland has parallelled that documented for England and Wales. The high proportion of deaths in young people, and deaths at home, is similar to findings elsewhere. Mortality is higher in the more rural health areas, which are characterised by poorer access to general medical services, fewer medical consultants to the population, and lower hospital admission rates for asthma. There is a slightly higher proportion of home deaths in these rural areas, though on the available data not reaching the level of significance. It is suggested that this difference in mortality between the more urban and the more rural areas provides a basis for a case study in detail.