Dataset Information

Educational inequalities in hypothermia mortality in the Baltic countries and Finland in 2000-15.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite an increased focus on cold-related mortality in recent years, there has been comparatively little research specifically on hypothermia mortality and its associated factors.

Methods

Educational inequalities in hypothermia mortality among individuals aged 30-74 in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Finland in 2000-15 were examined using data from longitudinal mortality follow-up studies of population censuses (the Baltics) and from a longitudinal register-based population data file (Finland).

Results

Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) were much higher in the Baltic countries than in Finland across the study period. From 2000-07 to 2008-15, overall ASMRs declined in all countries except among Finnish women. Although a strong educational gradient was observed in hypothermia mortality in all countries in 2000-07, inequalities were larger in the Baltic countries. Between 2000-07 and 2008-15, ASMRs declined in all educational groups except for high-educated women in Finland and low-educated women in Lithuania; the changes however were not always statistically significant. The absolute mortality decline was often larger among the low educated resulting in narrowing absolute inequalities (excepting Lithuania), whereas a larger relative decline among the high educated (excepting Finnish women) resulted in a considerable widening of relative inequalities in hypothermia mortality by 2008-15.

Conclusion

Although some reduction was observed in absolute educational inequalities in hypothermia mortality in 2000-15, substantial and widening relative inequalities highlight the need for further action in combatting factors behind deaths from excessive cold in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, including risky alcohol consumption and homelessness.

SUBMITTER: Stickley A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10393481 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Educational inequalities in hypothermia mortality in the Baltic countries and Finland in 2000-15.

Stickley Andrew A Baburin Aleksei A Jasilionis Domantas D Krumins Juris J Martikainen Pekka P Kondo Naoki N Shin Jae Il JI Oh Hans H Waldman Kyle K Leinsalu Mall M

European journal of public health 20230801 4

<h4>Background</h4>Despite an increased focus on cold-related mortality in recent years, there has been comparatively little research specifically on hypothermia mortality and its associated factors.<h4>Methods</h4>Educational inequalities in hypothermia mortality among individuals aged 30-74 in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Finland in 2000-15 were examined using data from longitudinal mortality follow-up studies of population censuses (the Baltics) and from a longitudina ...[more]

PMID: 37094965

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundDrowning is an important public health problem. Some evidence suggests that the risk of drowning is not distributed evenly across the general population. However, there has been comparatively little research on inequalities in drowning mortality. To address this deficit, this study examined trends and sociodemographic inequalities in mortality from unintentional drowning in the Baltic countries and Finland in 2000-2015.MethodsData for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania came from longitudinal mortality follow-up studies of population censuses in 2000/2001 and 2011, while corresponding data for Finland were obtained from the longitudinal register-based population data file of Statistics Finland. Deaths from drowning (ICD-10 codes W65-W74) were obtained from national mortality registries. Information was also obtained on socioeconomic status (educational level) and urban-rural residence. Age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) per 100 000 person years and mortality rate ratios were calculated for adults aged 30-74 years old. Poisson regression analysis was performed to assess the independent effects of sex, urban-rural residence and education on drowning mortality.ResultsDrowning ASMRs were significantly higher in the Baltic countries than in Finland but declined by nearly 30% in all countries across the study period. There were large inequalities by sex, urban-rural residence and educational level in all countries during 2000-2015. Men, rural residents and low educated individuals had substantially higher drowning ASMRs compared to their counterparts. Absolute and relative inequalities were significantly larger in the Baltic countries than in Finland. Absolute inequalities in drowning mortality declined in all countries across the study period except between urban and rural residents in Finland. Changes in relative inequalities were more variable during 2000-2015.ConclusionDespite a sharp reduction in deaths from drowning in the Baltic countries and Finland in 2000-2015, drowning mortality was still high in these countries at the end of the study period with a substantially larger risk of death seen among men, rural residents and low educated individuals. A concerted effort to prevent drowning mortality among those most at risk may reduce drownings considerably in the general population.

Project description:ObjectivesTo determine the extent to which educational inequalities in relation to mortality widened in Norway during 1960-2000 and which causes of death were the main drivers of this disparity.DesignNationally representative prospective study.SettingFour cohorts of the Norwegian population aged 45-64 years in 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1990 and followed up for mortality over 10 years.Participants359 547 deaths and 32 904 589 person years.Main outcome measuresAll cause mortality and deaths due to cancer of lung, trachea, or bronchus; other cancer; cardiovascular diseases; suicide; external causes; chronic lower respiratory tract diseases; or other causes. Absolute and relative indices of inequality were used to present differences in mortality by educational level (basic, secondary, and tertiary).ResultsMortality fell from the 1960s to the 1990s in all educational groups. At the same time the proportion of adults in the basic education group, with the highest mortality, decreased substantially. As mortality dropped more among those with the highest level of education, inequalities widened. Absolute inequalities in mortality denoting deaths among the basic education groups minus deaths among the high education groups doubled in men and increased by a third in women. This is equivalent to an increase in the slope index of inequality of 105% in men and 32% in women. Inequalities on a relative scale widened more, from 1.33 to 2.24 among men (P=0.01) and from 1.52 to 2.19 among women (P=0.05). Among men, absolute inequalities mainly increased as a result of cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and chronic lower respiratory tract diseases. Among women this was mainly due to lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory tract diseases. Unlike the situation in men, absolute inequalities in deaths due to cardiovascular causes narrowed among women. Chronic lower respiratory tract diseases contributed more to the disparities in inequalities among women than among men.ConclusionAll educational groups showed a decline in mortality. Nevertheless, and despite the fact that the Norwegian welfare model is based on an egalitarian ideology, educational inequalities in mortality among middle aged people in Norway are substantial and increased during 1960-2000.

Dataset Information

Educational inequalities in hypothermia mortality in the Baltic countries and Finland in 2000-15.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Educational inequalities in hypothermia mortality in the Baltic countries and Finland in 2000-15.

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