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Social disparities and cause-specific mortality during economic development.
C Mary Schooling1, Elaine W L Lau, Keith Y K Tin
1Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, School of Public Health, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|March 20, 2010
Summary
Economic development alters disease patterns, shifting health disparities over time. Understanding these disease-specific trends is crucial for targeted prevention in emerging economies.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Health Economics
Background:
- Social determinants significantly influence disease prevalence and mortality.
- Epidemiological transitions, driven by economic development, reshape population health patterns.
- Health disparities are dynamic and context-specific, varying with socioeconomic changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the evolution of social patterns in all-cause and cause-specific mortality over time.
- To elucidate how rapid economic development impacts health disparities.
- To analyze income-related inequalities in potential years of life lost (PYLL).
Main Methods:
- Utilized concentration indices to measure income-related disparities in PYLL.
- Analyzed mortality data for the Hong Kong population from 1976 to 2006.
- Compared concentration curves for all-cause and cause-specific mortality between 1976 and 2006.
Main Results:
- Concentration curves shifted significantly between 1976 and 2006, indicating changing health disparity patterns.
- The concentration index for all-cause PYLL increased over the study period.
- Mortality from injury and poisoning consistently affected lower-income groups, while cardiovascular diseases and cancer shifted from higher- to lower-income associations.
Conclusions:
- Social health disparities are not uniform and their origins vary by disease.
- Disease-specific analysis is essential for developing effective, context-tailored prevention strategies.
- Emerging economies, like China, have an opportunity to address and prevent widening disparities in cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
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