Academic Journal
Slowdown in mortality improvements and trends in lifespan inequality across high-income countries: the role of changing causes of death, 2010-2021.
| Τίτλος: | Slowdown in mortality improvements and trends in lifespan inequality across high-income countries: the role of changing causes of death, 2010-2021. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Zheng Y; Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel., van Raalte A; Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.; Max Planck - University of Helsinki Center for Social Inequalities in Population Health (MaxHel Center), Helsinki, Finland., Sasson I; Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.; Herczeg Institute on Aging, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. |
| Πηγή: | European journal of public health [Eur J Public Health] 2026 Mar 14; Vol. 36 (2). |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9204966 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1464-360X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 11011262 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Eur J Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Oxford : Oxford University Press Original Publication: Stockholm, Sweden : Almqvist & Wiksell International, c1991- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Life Expectancy*/trends , Developed Countries*/statistics & numerical data , Mortality*/trends, Cause of Death/trends ; COVID-19/epidemiology ; COVID-19/mortality ; Mortality, Premature/trends ; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Adult ; Socioeconomic Disparities in Health ; Adolescent ; Aged, 80 and over ; Infant |
| Περίληψη: | Background: In recent years, several high-income countries have experienced slowdowns in mortality improvements. Prior research has focused on how those changes have impacted life expectancy, but little is known about how they affected lifespan inequality. Methods: Using data from the Human Mortality Database and World Health Organization Mortality Database, we quantify the contributions of changes in age- and cause-specific mortality to changes in lifespan inequality, measured by life disparity, across 20 high-income countries between 2010 and 2021. Results: On average, life disparity declined by 0.3 years among both females and males between 2010 and 2019, with declines observed in all countries except for Canada and the United States. These declines were largely attributed to reductions in premature mortality, particularly from cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms. Across English-speaking countries, these reductions were partly (e.g. Canada) or entirely (USA) offset by rising premature mortality related to neuropsychiatric conditions-mainly drug and alcohol use disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic was marked by increasing premature and old-age mortality, which partly contributed to the declines in life disparity in several, though not all, countries. Conclusion: Mortality dynamics since the 2010s have resulted in distinct changes in lifespan inequality, in addition to life expectancy, across high-income countries. Despite the slowdowns in mortality improvements, lifespans in most countries have become more equal in the decade preceding COVID-19. This trend was interrupted or reversed by the pandemic in many countries. Canada and the United Sates stood out in both periods due to rising premature mortality related to drug and alcohol use. (© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.) |
| Grant Information: | 2532/22 Israel Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and the Israel Science Foundation |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260205 Date Completed: 20260707 Latest Revision: 20260707 |
| Update Code: | 20260707 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13017460 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/eurpub/ckag002 |
| PMID: | 41641887 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1464-360X |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1093/eurpub/ckag002 |