Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.

<h4>Background</h4>Eliminating socioeconomic disparities in health is an overarching goal of the U.S. Healthy People decennial initiatives. We present recent trends in mortality by education among working-aged populations.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>Age-standardized death ra...

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Main Authors: Jiemin Ma, Jiaquan Xu, Robert N Anderson, Ahmedin Jemal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22911814/pdf/?tool=EBI
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author Jiemin Ma
Jiaquan Xu
Robert N Anderson
Ahmedin Jemal
author_facet Jiemin Ma
Jiaquan Xu
Robert N Anderson
Ahmedin Jemal
author_sort Jiemin Ma
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Eliminating socioeconomic disparities in health is an overarching goal of the U.S. Healthy People decennial initiatives. We present recent trends in mortality by education among working-aged populations.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>Age-standardized death rates and their average annual percent change for all-cause and five major causes (cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and accidents) were calculated from 1993 through 2007 for individuals aged 25-64 years by educational attainment as a marker of socioeconomic status, using national vital registration data for 26 states with consistent educational information on the death certificates. Rate ratios and rate differences were used to assess disparities (≤12 versus ≥16 years of education) for 1993 through 2007. From 1993 through 2007, relative educational disparities in all-cause mortality continued to increase among working-aged men and women in the U.S., due to larger decreases of mortality rates among the most educated coupled with smaller decreases or even worsening trends in the less educated. For example, the rate ratios of all-cause mortality increased from 2.5 (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.4-2.6) in 1993 to 3.6 (95% CI, 3.5-3.7) in 2007 in men and from 1.9 (95% CI, 1.8-2.0) to 3.0 (95% CI, 2.9-3.1) in women. Generally, the rate differences (per 100,000 persons) of all-cause mortality increased from 415.5 (95% CI, 399.1-431.9) in 1993 to 472.7 (95% CI, 460.2-485.2) in 2007 in men and from 165.4 (95% CI, 154.5-176.2) to 256.2 (95% CI, 248.3-264.2) in women. Disparity patterns varied largely across the five specific causes considered in this study, with the largest increases of relative disparities for accidents, especially in women.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Relative educational differentials in mortality continued to widen among men and women despite emphasis on reducing disparities in the U.S. Healthy People decennial initiatives.
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spelling doaj.art-bd5dfb50054447c794e74eb1f9b8389f2022-12-21T23:11:15ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0177e4156010.1371/journal.pone.0041560Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.Jiemin MaJiaquan XuRobert N AndersonAhmedin Jemal<h4>Background</h4>Eliminating socioeconomic disparities in health is an overarching goal of the U.S. Healthy People decennial initiatives. We present recent trends in mortality by education among working-aged populations.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>Age-standardized death rates and their average annual percent change for all-cause and five major causes (cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and accidents) were calculated from 1993 through 2007 for individuals aged 25-64 years by educational attainment as a marker of socioeconomic status, using national vital registration data for 26 states with consistent educational information on the death certificates. Rate ratios and rate differences were used to assess disparities (≤12 versus ≥16 years of education) for 1993 through 2007. From 1993 through 2007, relative educational disparities in all-cause mortality continued to increase among working-aged men and women in the U.S., due to larger decreases of mortality rates among the most educated coupled with smaller decreases or even worsening trends in the less educated. For example, the rate ratios of all-cause mortality increased from 2.5 (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.4-2.6) in 1993 to 3.6 (95% CI, 3.5-3.7) in 2007 in men and from 1.9 (95% CI, 1.8-2.0) to 3.0 (95% CI, 2.9-3.1) in women. Generally, the rate differences (per 100,000 persons) of all-cause mortality increased from 415.5 (95% CI, 399.1-431.9) in 1993 to 472.7 (95% CI, 460.2-485.2) in 2007 in men and from 165.4 (95% CI, 154.5-176.2) to 256.2 (95% CI, 248.3-264.2) in women. Disparity patterns varied largely across the five specific causes considered in this study, with the largest increases of relative disparities for accidents, especially in women.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Relative educational differentials in mortality continued to widen among men and women despite emphasis on reducing disparities in the U.S. Healthy People decennial initiatives.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22911814/pdf/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Jiemin Ma
Jiaquan Xu
Robert N Anderson
Ahmedin Jemal
Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.
PLoS ONE
title Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.
title_full Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.
title_fullStr Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.
title_full_unstemmed Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.
title_short Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the United States, 1993-2007.
title_sort widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six states in the united states 1993 2007
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22911814/pdf/?tool=EBI
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