We analyze the effect of being born in a recession on the mortality rate later in life in conjunction with social class. We use individual data records from Dutch registers of birth, marriage, and death certificates, covering the period 1815-2000, and we merge these with historical data on macro-economic outcomes and health indicators. We estimate duration models and inequality measures. The re...

OBJECTIVE To investigate change in the social distribution of some of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease in men in England during a period when inequality in cardiovascular disease mortality widened DESIGN Age standardised comparison of the social distribution of seven known risk factors for cardiovascular disease (body mass index, waist to hip ratio, systolic and diastolic bloo...

BACKGROUND Little information is available on temporal trend in socioeconomic inequalities in cause of death mortality in France. The aim of this paper was to study educational differences in mortality in France by cause of death and their temporal trend. METHODS We used a representative sample of 1% of the French population and compared four periods (1968-1974, 1975-1981, 1982-1988, 1990-199...

This study explores global inequality in health status and decomposes it into within- and between-country inequality. We rely on standardized height as our health indicator since it avoids the measurement pitfalls of more traditional measures of health such as morbidity, mortality, and life expectancy. It also avoids measurement problems associated with using monetary variables such as income o...

OBJECTIVES To see if obesity, deaths from diabetes, and daily calorie intake are associated with income inequality among developed countries. DESIGN Ecological study of 21 developed countries.Countries: Countries were eligible for inclusion if they were among the top 50 countries with the highest gross national income per capita by purchasing power parity in 2002, had a population over 3 mill...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To assess the size of mortality differentials in men by social class in Scotland as compared with England and Wales, and to analyse the time trends in these differentials. SUBJECTS Men from England and Wales and Scotland around each census from 1951 to 1981. METHODS Poisson regression analysis was used to calculate relative indices of inequality for disease specific and all ...

BACKGROUND It is not known whether equity-oriented primary care investment that seeks to scale up the delivery of effective care in disadvantaged communities can reduce health inequality within high-income settings that have pre-existing universal primary care systems. We provide some non-randomised controlled evidence by comparing health inequality trends between two similar jurisdictions-one ...

The educational gradient in life expectancy is well documented in the United States and in other low-mortality countries. Highly educated Americans, on average, live longer than their low-educated counterparts, who have recently seen declines in adult life expectancy. However, limiting the discussion on lifespan inequality to mean differences alone overlooks other dimensions of inequality and p...

BACKGROUND A large part of the socioeconomic mortality gradient can be statistically accounted for by social patterning of adult health behaviours. However, this statistical explanation does not consider the early life origins of unhealthy behaviours and increased mortality risk. METHODS Analysis is based on 2132 members of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development with mortality foll...

STUDY OBJECTIVE Studies in Europe and North America have reported that living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood is associated with an increased incidence of coronary heart disease. The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that exposure to traffic and air pollution might account for some of the socioeconomic differences in mortality rates in a city where residents are covered by universal...