Biomaterial Database

Mortality, lifestyle and socio-economic status. 2008

Silvia Balia, and Andrew M Jones

Dipartimento di Ricerche Economiche e Sociali, Universitá di Cagliari, viale S Ignazio, Cagliari, Italy. silvia.balia@unica.it

This paper uses the British Health and Lifestyle Survey (1984-1985) data and the longitudinal follow-up of May 2003 to investigate the determinants of premature mortality in Great Britain and the contribution of lifestyle choices to socio-economic inequality in mortality. A behavioural model, which relates premature mortality to a set of observable and unobservable factors, is considered. A maximum simulated likelihood (MSL) approach for a multivariate probit (MVP) is used to estimate a recursive system of equations for mortality, morbidity and lifestyles. Health inequality is explored using the Gini coefficient and a decomposition technique. The decomposition analysis for predicted mortality shows that, after allowing for endogeneity, lifestyles contribute strongly to inequality in mortality, reducing the direct role of socio-economic status. This contradicts the view, which is widely held in epidemiology, that lifestyles make a relatively minor contribution to observed socio-economic gradients in health.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008019	Life Style	Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)	Lifestyle Factors,Life Style Induced Illness,Lifestyle,Factor, Lifestyle,Life Styles,Lifestyle Factor,Lifestyles
D008137	Longitudinal Studies	Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.	Bogalusa Heart Study,California Teachers Study,Framingham Heart Study,Jackson Heart Study,Longitudinal Survey,Tuskegee Syphilis Study,Bogalusa Heart Studies,California Teachers Studies,Framingham Heart Studies,Heart Studies, Bogalusa,Heart Studies, Framingham,Heart Studies, Jackson,Heart Study, Bogalusa,Heart Study, Framingham,Heart Study, Jackson,Jackson Heart Studies,Longitudinal Study,Longitudinal Surveys,Studies, Bogalusa Heart,Studies, California Teachers,Studies, Jackson Heart,Studies, Longitudinal,Study, Bogalusa Heart,Study, California Teachers,Study, Longitudinal,Survey, Longitudinal,Surveys, Longitudinal,Syphilis Studies, Tuskegee,Syphilis Study, Tuskegee,Teachers Studies, California,Teachers Study, California,Tuskegee Syphilis Studies
D009026	Mortality	All deaths reported in a given population.	CFR Case Fatality Rate,Crude Death Rate,Crude Mortality Rate,Death Rate,Age Specific Death Rate,Age-Specific Death Rate,Case Fatality Rate,Decline, Mortality,Determinants, Mortality,Differential Mortality,Excess Mortality,Mortality Decline,Mortality Determinants,Mortality Rate,Mortality, Differential,Mortality, Excess,Age-Specific Death Rates,Case Fatality Rates,Crude Death Rates,Crude Mortality Rates,Death Rate, Age-Specific,Death Rate, Crude,Death Rates,Determinant, Mortality,Differential Mortalities,Excess Mortalities,Mortalities,Mortality Declines,Mortality Determinant,Mortality Rate, Crude,Mortality Rates,Rate, Age-Specific Death,Rate, Case Fatality,Rate, Crude Death,Rate, Crude Mortality,Rate, Death,Rate, Mortality,Rates, Case Fatality
D006113	United Kingdom	Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London.	Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006305	Health Status Indicators	The measurement of the health status for a given population using a variety of indices, including morbidity, mortality, and available health resources.	Health Risk Appraisal,Health Status Index,Health Status Indexes,Appraisal, Health Risk,Appraisals, Health Risk,Health Risk Appraisals,Health Status Indicator,Health Status Indices,Index, Health Status,Indexes, Health Status,Indicator, Health Status,Indicators, Health Status,Indices, Health Status,Risk Appraisal, Health,Risk Appraisals, Health
D006306	Health Surveys	A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.	Abortion Surveys,Abortion Survey,Health Survey,Survey, Abortion,Survey, Health,Surveys, Abortion,Surveys, Health
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012923	Social Class	A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.	Caste,Social Gradients,Socioeconomic Level,Socioeconomic Status,Middle Class Population,Castes,Class, Social,Gradient, Social,Level, Socioeconomic,Middle Class Populations,Population, Middle Class,Social Classes,Social Gradient,Socioeconomic Levels,Status, Socioeconomic
D012959	Socioeconomic Factors	Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.	Economic and Social Factors,Social Inequalities,Social Inequality,Social and Economic Factors,Socioeconomic Characteristics,Factors, Socioeconomic,High-Income Population,Land Tenure,Standard of Living,Characteristic, Socioeconomic,Factor, Socioeconomic,High Income Population,High-Income Populations,Inequality, Social,Living Standard,Living Standards,Population, High-Income,Socioeconomic Characteristic,Socioeconomic Factor,Tenure, Land
D015438	Health Behavior	Combination of HEALTH KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, PRACTICE which underlie actions taken by individuals regarding their health.	Health-Related Behavior,Behavior, Health,Behavior, Health-Related,Behaviors, Health,Behaviors, Health-Related,Health Behaviors,Health Related Behavior,Health-Related Behaviors