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Changing life expectancy in central Europe: is there a single reason?
1Health Services Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Journal of Public Health Medicine
|September 1, 1996
Summary
Life expectancy stagnated in Eastern Europe during the 1980s. Deteriorating death rates in young and middle-aged adults, particularly from cancer and circulatory diseases, offset infant mortality gains.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Demography
- Mortality Studies
Background:
- Life expectancy in Western Europe increased by 2.5 years in the 1980s.
- Life expectancy stagnated or declined in former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe during the same period.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the contribution of different age groups and causes of death to changes in life expectancy at birth.
- To investigate mortality trends in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland between 1979 and 1990.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of mortality data across different age strata.
- Decomposition of changes in life expectancy at birth by cause of death.
Main Results:
- Improvements in infant mortality were negated by increased death rates in young and middle-aged populations.
- Deterioration in mortality began in late childhood (Hungary) or in the thirties/forties (Czechoslovakia, Poland).
- Cancer and circulatory diseases were primary drivers of increased mortality; cirrhosis and accidents were significant in Hungary.
Conclusions:
- Observed mortality patterns varied significantly between Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland regarding affected age groups and causes of death.
- Further research is necessary to elucidate the specific factors underlying these national differences in mortality trends.