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The gap gets bigger: changes in mortality and life expectancy, by education, 1981-2000
Ellen R Meara1, Seth Richards, David M Cutler
1Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. meara@hcp.med.harvard.edu
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|March 12, 2008
Summary
Educational disparities in life expectancy are widening, particularly among the elderly. Gains in longevity are primarily benefiting better-educated groups, increasing the life expectancy gap by 30%.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Sociology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Educational disparities impact health outcomes, including mortality and life expectancy.
- Despite interventions for low socioeconomic status groups, educational gaps persist and are widening.
- Trends in the 1980s and 1990s show increasing life expectancy differentials by education level.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine educational disparities in mortality and life expectancy among non-Hispanic blacks and whites during the 1980s and 1990s.
- To identify trends in educational differentials in life expectancy within racial and gender groups.
- To investigate the contribution of smoking-related diseases to these trends.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of mortality and life expectancy data stratified by education level, race, and gender.
- Examination of trends over two decades (1980s and 1990s).
- Assessment of the role of smoking-related diseases in observed differentials.
Main Results:
- The educational gap in life expectancy is increasing, especially among the elderly.
- Except for black males, recent life expectancy gains at age 25 have been concentrated among more educated individuals.
- Educational differentials in life expectancy increased by 30%.
- Differential trends in smoking-related diseases accounted for at least 20% of this widening gap.
Conclusions:
- Educational attainment is a significant determinant of life expectancy trends.
- Widening educational disparities in life expectancy pose a public health challenge.
- Targeted interventions may be needed to address these growing inequalities.
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