Trends in socio-economic inequalities in injury mortality among men in small areas of 26 Spanish cities, 1996–2007

► Injury mortality presents the same geographical pattern as the deprivation index. ► Risk of injury mortality remains stable or increases in areas with more deprivation. ► Risk of motor vehicle injury mortality decreases in areas with more deprivation. ► Risk of suicide mortality remains stable in areas with more deprivation. To analyse trends in socio-economic inequalities in mortality due to all injuries, as well as, suicide and motor vehicle injuries, in men in the census tracts of 26 Spanish cities for the periods 1996–2001 and 2002–2007. Ecological study of trends based on two periods (1996–2001 and 2002–2007). The study population consisted of male residents in each city during the period 1996–2007. We fitted a hierarchical Bayesian model which takes into account the spatial structure of the data in order to obtain relative risks (RRs), and their 95% credible intervals (CIs), between mortality and a socio-economic deprivation index, in each period. In most of the cities, mortality due to total injuries presents the same geographical pattern as the deprivation index in the two periods. Moreover, inequalities remained stable. In contrast, socio-economic inequalities in mortality due to motor vehicle injuries tended to diminish in the second period in the majority of the cities, particularly Castellón (first period: RR1=2.56; 95%CI: 1.19–4.84; second period: RR2=1.06; 95%CI: 0.45–2.12), whereas in the case of suicides, the inequalities remain stable but are only significant in large cities. This study has demonstrated that socio-economic inequalities in mortality due to all injuries in small areas of 26 Spanish cities remain stable over time. These results highlight the importance of intra-urban inequalities in mortality due to injuries and their evolution over time.