[Reasons for systematic, primary and specialist care of the over-40 population in the city and province of Poznan].

The work constitutes a part of a larger project "Comparative analysis of some elements of health state among 40-year-old inhabitants of the City and the Province of Poznan, born 1938, 1959", backed by National Committee of Sciences, performed in the Department of Public Health, Chair of Social Medicine, K. Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences, in Poznan. Altogether 1037 persons, born in 1959, were medically examined as to their social background, education, life-style, and their current health picture. Some of the key elements were compared, where possible, with a similar, though much larger group of those born in 1938. The article focuses on the 40-year-olds born in 1959, and describes the causes of admission by their respective family physicians, as well as specialists (secondary care). Place of residence, gender and education of the persons examined were taken into consideration. The results point to the prevailing causes of admission, such as arterial hypertension, diseases of the digestive tract (gastric and duodenal ulcer), and of locomotor system.