[Social inequality in deaths in Great Britain and in France]

In this paper data are compared on differential mortality for working men in the United Kingdom and France, for the years 1970-1972 (U.K.) and 1966-1971 (F). Differential mortality in the United Kingdom is described in 'occupational mortality' published by O.P.C.S.; mortality according to 'Catégories socio-professionnelles' has been studied for a large cohort by INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies). The comparison between those two sets of data leads to the following conclusions: social differences in death rates seem to be larger in France than in United Kingdom. the main causes of death responsible for these inequalities differ in the two countries: respiratory diseases are the main cause in U.K.; in France, accidents and alcohol-related death lead to the largest inequalities. We discuss the difficulties of comparison between countries: some of the apparent differences may relate to the fact that, in France, mortality data concerns a cohort followed since 1954, while British data comes from a transversal survey. Another point of difference is the fact that foreigners are not included in the French study. In every country where data exist on the subject, inequalities in health are found. The reasons why these inequalities exist, and what should be done to reduce them, is a matter for discussion. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate, by throwing light on some aspects of the observed differences.