Premature deaths among men in a Swedish municipality--social characteristics prior to death

Premature deaths among 91 men in a Swedish municipality were analyzed regarding social class, immigrant status and their contacts with the Social Services because of alcohol abuse. Unskilled manual workers were overrepresented (54% versus 28% in an age-adjusted male reference group) and self-employed (other than professionals) were underrepresented (4% versus 15%). The job situation was, however, rather stable and low unemployment (1%) was at hand. The proportion of men born in Finland was high (20%). All men in this group belonged to the lowest social class. Single men (unmarried or divorced) were overrepresented compared to the Swedish group (72% versus 40%). Cardio-vascular disease was a common cause of death among the Finnish men (56% versus 36%). Combining medical and social data revealed alcohol abuse among 40% of the 91 men (50% among the Finnish and 37% among the Swedish men). The most complete information was given by the primary health care records where 89% with alcohol abuse were identified, which is a high proportion compared to other studies. Only 28% were considered to have alcohol abuse according to the Social Services.