Objectives: We aimed to determine the public health status of an 18th century mountain locality.
Methods: We collected data registered in parish death certificates from Arudy, a small village in the French Pyrenees during the period 1741-1800.
Results: Two thousand and six hundred and sixty-three cases were studied. About 50% of deaths occurred during the first 10 years of life. There were some particularities in deaths pattern with regards to age categories between males and females and seasonality. A fraction of individuals died at advanced ages (24.1% ≥60 years and of note three cases ≥100 years). The cause of death was reported in only 2.2% of cases (nearly always sudden fatalities). Maternal mortality could not be precisely determined. Throughout this period we identified a series of mortality crises which targeted mostly children and were probably in relation with undocumented epidemics.
Conclusions: These data offer some clues about the sanitary situation of an European mountain community during the 18th century.
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