Social inequalities in life expectancy and mortality during the transition period of economic crisis (1993–2010) in Korea

International Journal for Equity in Health

Soonman Kwon³  Junhyeok Yi²  Ichiro Kawachi⁴  Juhwan Oh⁴  Youngtae Cho³  Mia Son¹ 

[1] Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical College, Kangwon National University, Kangwon, South Korea;Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Korea;School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea;Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

关键词: Korea inequality in health;    Economic crisis;    Mortality;    Life expectancy;    Social inequalities;   

Others  :  826104
DOI  :  10.1186/1475-9276-11-71

 received in 2012-07-02, accepted in 2012-10-31,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Backgrounds

This study examines social inequalities in life expectancy and mortality during the transition period of the Korean economic crisis (1993–2010) among Korean adults aged 40 and over.

Methods

Data from the census and the national death file from the Statistics Korea are employed to calculate life expectancy and age-specific-death-rates (ASDR) by age, gender, and educational attainment for five years: 1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010. Absolute and relative differences in life expectancy and Age-Specific Death Rates by educational attainment were utilized as proxy measures of social inequality.

Results

Clear educational gradient of life expectancy was observed at age 40 by both sexes and across five time periods (1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010). The gradient became notably worse in females between 1993 and 2010 compared to the trend in males. The educational gradient was also found for ASDR in all five years, but it was more pronounced in working age groups (40s and 50s) than in elderly groups. The relative disadvantage of ASDR among working age Korean adults, both males and females, became substantially worse over time.

Conclusions

Social inequalities in life expectancy and ASDR of the working age group across socioeconomic status over time were closely related to the widening of the social difference created by the macroeconomic crisis and the expansion of neo-liberalism in Korea.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Son et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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