RESUMEN
To examine relationship between the family composition and medical expenses for circuration diseases in the elderly people who were 65 or more, we analysed the 1982 and 1983 data of medical expenses of national health insurance in the rural area of Fukuoka Prefecture.<BR>The elderly people were classified into five groups according to whether they were living with their children and whether their spouse was alive.<BR>The results were as follows:<BR>1) In the elderly people who were living with their children, the medical expenses were low among those living with their spouses and high among those living without.<BR>2) In the elderly people who were not living with their children, the medicalexpenses were low among the elderly men with their spouses and high among the eldrly women without.<BR>3) In the elderly people who were living alone, the elderly men and women had low medical expenses in hospital services and ambulatory services.<BR>4) The medical expenses for circulation diseases were more influenced by the presence of spouses than living with their children.