Is there a mortality differential by marital statusamong women in South Africa? A study on a ruralsub-district of Mpumalanga Province in theNorth-East South Africa

Abstract

Using longitudinal data collected between 1999 and 2006 for Agincourt Demographic Surveillance Area (ADSA), the paper examines the effect of marital status and co-residence on mortality of women aged between 20 and 80. The Cox Proportional Hazard Model is used to investigate the relationship between mortality and marital status, woman's country of origin, co-residence, and marital duration for married women. The number of months the husband was resident in the ADSA is used as a proxy for co-residence. Divorced/separated and widowed women had a higher probability of dying compared to those who were married. In addition, being married to a migrant partner increased the woman's probability of dying. Thus the study concludes that marital status and co-residence both affect mortality.