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The Richer the Better? SES Inequalities In Cause-Specific Adult Mortality In a Long-Term Perspective: Evidence from Sweden 1813-2014

Debiasi, Enrico LU and Dribe, Martin LU (2019) In Lund Papers in Economic Demography
Abstract
Higher socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with lower mortality. This has been confirmed
using different indicators across several geographical settings. Nevertheless, the mechanisms
behind this association are still under debate. In particular, the timing of the emergence of the
SES gradient remains an open question. In this paper, we study the development of SES
inequalities in cause-specific mortality for a regional population in southern Sweden from the
early nineteenth century until 2014. We apply a cause-specific hazard model to estimate mortality
differentials by SES. Our results confirm that the SES differences we see today emerged only
around 1970. More importantly, our study demonstrates that,... (More)
Higher socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with lower mortality. This has been confirmed
using different indicators across several geographical settings. Nevertheless, the mechanisms
behind this association are still under debate. In particular, the timing of the emergence of the
SES gradient remains an open question. In this paper, we study the development of SES
inequalities in cause-specific mortality for a regional population in southern Sweden from the
early nineteenth century until 2014. We apply a cause-specific hazard model to estimate mortality
differentials by SES. Our results confirm that the SES differences we see today emerged only
around 1970. More importantly, our study demonstrates that, with few exceptions, SES
differences emerged about the same time for all causes of death. For women it started earlier than
for men, particularly in infectious diseases. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century we find
a positive association between SES and mortality from circulatory diseases for men. We argue
that habits and behaviors embedded in the different social strata played a major role behind the
SES differences in mortality that we observe throughout the analyzed period. (Less)
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Working paper/Preprint
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in
Lund Papers in Economic Demography
issue
2019:4
pages
58 pages
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b211e6e2-6374-4d9a-a5f3-ce7b235c1d1f
alternative location
https://www.lusem.lu.se/sites/lusem.lu.se/files/2024-07/LPED_2019_4.pdf
date added to LUP
2026-05-04 16:17:56
date last changed
2026-05-04 16:17:56
@misc{b211e6e2-6374-4d9a-a5f3-ce7b235c1d1f,
  abstract     = {{Higher socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with lower mortality. This has been confirmed<br/>using different indicators across several geographical settings. Nevertheless, the mechanisms<br/>behind this association are still under debate. In particular, the timing of the emergence of the<br/>SES gradient remains an open question. In this paper, we study the development of SES<br/>inequalities in cause-specific mortality for a regional population in southern Sweden from the<br/>early nineteenth century until 2014. We apply a cause-specific hazard model to estimate mortality<br/>differentials by SES. Our results confirm that the SES differences we see today emerged only<br/>around 1970. More importantly, our study demonstrates that, with few exceptions, SES<br/>differences emerged about the same time for all causes of death. For women it started earlier than<br/>for men, particularly in infectious diseases. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century we find<br/>a positive association between SES and mortality from circulatory diseases for men. We argue<br/>that habits and behaviors embedded in the different social strata played a major role behind the<br/>SES differences in mortality that we observe throughout the analyzed period.}},
  author       = {{Debiasi, Enrico and Dribe, Martin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2019:4}},
  series       = {{Lund Papers in Economic Demography}},
  title        = {{The Richer the Better? SES Inequalities In Cause-Specific Adult Mortality In a Long-Term Perspective: Evidence from Sweden 1813-2014}},
  url          = {{https://www.lusem.lu.se/sites/lusem.lu.se/files/2024-07/LPED_2019_4.pdf}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}