Trends in educational mortality differentials in Austria between 1981/82 and 2001/2002

Abstract

Background-Many studies for European populations found an increase in socioeconomic mortality differentials during the last decades of the 20 th century, at least in relative terms. The aim of our paper is to explore the situation in Austria, for a wide age range, over a period of 20 years.Methods-Based on a linkage of census information and death certificates, we computed age and education specific death rates. We calculate life expectancies at age 35 by educational level as well as regression-based measures of absolute (SII) and relative (RII) inequality, for the periods 1981/82, 1991/92, and 2001/2002. Results-Life expectancy increased faster for the higher educated in the 1980s, whereas this trend reversed in the following decade. For males at working ages an increase in relative mortality differentials was observed during the 1980s. Absolute mortality differentials decreased among elderly females in the 1990s, particularly for circulatory disease mortality. Altogether the educational pattern of mortality was rather stable in Austria at the end of the 20 th century. Conclusions-Compared with results from other countries, trends in educational mortality differentials seem to be rather favorable in Austria in the 1990s. A stable health care system, the healthy migrant effect, and relatively low unemployment rates may have contributed to stable mortality differentials. However, an important explanation is also the inclusion of higher ages in our study.

Gender differences in social mortality differentials in Switzerland (1990-2005)

“…The difference is slightly less pronounced than in Austria, where in 2001-2002 men and women aged 35 years with tertiary education could expect to live six and three years longer, respectively, than individuals with primary education (Klotz and Doblhammer 2008). The gap turns out to be larger than in Belgium, where in 2001 the same differentials at age 25 were 7.5 years for men and 5.9 years for women (Deboosere, Gadeyne, and Van Oyen 2009).…”

“…The higher prevalence among lower educated subgroups of risky health behaviors-such as smoking, heavy drinking, physical inactivity, and obesity-is well known, and has been shown for many countries (Klotz and Doblhammer 2008;Wray, Alwin, and McCammon 2005;Valkonen 2002;Ross and Wu 1995). Differences in lifestyle and health behavior by educational achievement have been attributed to the cognitive resources that people acquire through higher education.…”

“…For several reasons, demographers have mainly focused on educational achievement (Deboosere, Gadeyne, and Van Oyen 2009;Klotz and Doblhammer 2008;Rau et al 2008;Valkonen 2002). Typical demographic sources, such as censuses and death certificates, rarely contain information on income and wealth, while occupational titles are generally only available for the working-age segment of the population.…”

Diferenciais de mortalidade por escolaridade da população adulta brasileira, em 2010

“…Esses resultados como um todo sobre os diferenciais de mortalidade segundo o nível de escolaridade para as Grandes Regiões Brasileiras mostram coerência com a literatura, que aponta inúmeras evidências de melhores condições de saúde e maior expectativa de vida entre a população de alta escolaridade 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,11,13,14,25,26,27 .…”

Potential Reduction in Mortality Associated with the Shifts of Population Educational Structures in the Czech Republic

“…They are also more likely to take advantage of new technologies especially in treatment and prevention [6,14,15]. Therefore, the inverse association between education and mortality risk (the gradient) has been evidenced in many studies as well [6,[16][17][18][19]. Educational atainment is also a concrete indicator (compared to occupation) for policymakers when deciding the health or social policies and investments [15].…”