East-West Health Divide and Potential Explanations

Bobák, Martin; Marmot, M

doi:10.1007/978-94-009-1764-4_2

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…There are rich and illuminating seams of demographic (Zakharov and Ivanova 1996 ; Shkolnikov and Cornia 2000 ; Vishnevsky 2003 ; World Bank, 2005 ), epidemiological (Leon et al 1997 ; McKee et al 1998 ; Bobak and Marmot 1996 ; McKee and Shkolnikov 2001 ; Leon et al 2007 ; Zaridze et al 2009 ), and social science (Shapiro 1995 ; Shkolnikov et al 1998 ; Cockerham 2000 ; Cornia and Paniccià 2000 ; Davis 2000 ; Brainerd and Cutler 2005 ; Gerry 2012 ) literature examining the nature of these trends and fluctuations. In Russia, perhaps the most extreme and certainly the most well-documented case, life expectancy for males collapsed from 64.2 in 1989 to 58.3 in 1995.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergence or Divergence? Life Expectancy Patterns in Post-communist Countries, 1959–2010

2017

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In the 1960s and 1970s, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union experienced an unanticipated stagnation in the process of mortality reduction that was accelerating in the west. This was followed by even starker fluctuations and overall declines in life expectancy during the 1980s and 1990s. We identify statistically the extent to which, since the 1990s, the countries of the post-communist region have converged as a group towards other regional or cross-regional geopolitical blocks, or whether there are now multiple steady-states (‘convergence clubs’) emerging among these countries. We apply a complex convergence club methodology, including a recursive analysis, to data on 30 OECD countries (including 11 post-communist countries) drawn from the Human Mortality Database and spanning the period 1959–2010. We find that, rather than converging uniformly on western life expectancy levels, the post-communist countries have diverged into multiple clubs, with the lowest seemingly stuck in low-level equilibria, while the best performers (e.g. Czech Republic) show signs of catching-up with the leading OECD countries. As the post-communist period has progressed, the group of transition countries themselves has become more heterogeneous and it is noticeable that distinctive gender and age patterns have emerged. We are the first to employ an empirical convergence club methodology to help understand the complex long-run patterns of life expectancy within the post-communist region, one of very few papers to situate such an analysis in the context of the OECD countries, and one of relatively few to interpret the dynamics over the long-term.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergence or Divergence? Life Expectancy Patterns in Post-communist Countries, 1959–2010

2017

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“…Among the life-style factors seen as key factors for the high mortality levels in the region are excessive alcohol consumption and the very poor quality of home-made alcohol (Szucs et al 2005), a diet based on high intakes of animal fats and low consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the high prevalence of cigarette smoking (Bobak and Marmot 1996a, 1999; Cockerham 2007; Cockerham et al 2004; Laaksonen et al 2001). Poor personal life styles are not found in all segments of the society in Bulgaria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnic and religious differentials in Bulgarian mortality, 1993–98

Kohler

Preston

2011

Population Studies

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We investigated ethnic/religious mortality differentials in Bulgaria during the 1990s. The analyses employed a unique longitudinal data set covering the entire population of Bulgaria from the census of 1992 until 1998. The mortality of Roma is very high compared to all other ethnic/religious groups. The excess applies to nearly every cause of death examined and is not entirely explained by the adverse location of Roma on social and economic variables. For young men, Muslim mortality is substantially lower than that of non-Muslims when socioeconomic differences are controlled. An analysis of causes of death suggests that lower consumption of alcohol may contribute to this 'Muslim paradox'. For older Muslim women, a significant mortality disadvantage remains after controls are imposed. Suicide mortality is lower for Muslims than for Christian groups of the same ethnicity. Consistent with deteriorating economic conditions over the study period, mortality was rising, particularly for women.

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“…Negative effects of fat consumption and positive effects of fruit/vegetables consumption on all causes mortality and premature death were reported [ 4 ]. Lifestyle factors (diet, cigarette smoking) compounded by economic hardship are thought to account for a large proportion of the disparity between life expectancy in the European Union (EU) and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) [ 5 - 7 ]. Romania has received little attention as far as health and risk factors are concerned [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing consumer dietary health preventative behaviours

2006

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Background: The deterioration of the health status of the Romanian population during the economic transition from a centrally planned to a free market economy has been linked to lifestyles factors (e.g. diet) regarded as a main determinants of the disparity in life expectancy between Eastern and Western Europe. Reforms in the health care system in this transition economy aim to focus on preventive action. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that impact on the individual decision to engage in Dietary Health Preventive Behaviour (DHPB) and investigate their influence in the context of an adapted health cognition model.

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East-West Health Divide and Potential Explanations

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Convergence or Divergence? Life Expectancy Patterns in Post-communist Countries, 1959–2010

Convergence or Divergence? Life Expectancy Patterns in Post-communist Countries, 1959–2010

Ethnic and religious differentials in Bulgarian mortality, 1993–98

Factors influencing consumer dietary health preventative behaviours

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