Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden
BACKGROUND Social position is one of the major determinants of health. Less is known about its effect in historical contexts. Previous studies have shown surprisingly small effects of social class in working age populations. Not much is known about social differences in health among the elderly in h...
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Centrum för befolkningsstudier (CBS)
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ftumeauniv:oai:DiVA.org:umu-45755 2023-10-09T21:54:31+02:00 Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden Edvinsson, Sören Broström, Göran 2012 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-45755 https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2012.26.23 eng eng Centrum för befolkningsstudier (CBS) Statistiska institutionen Demographic Research, 1435-9871, 2012, 26, s. 23- orcid:0000-0001-7439-002X http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-45755 doi:10.4054/DemRes.2012.26.23 ISI:000305807800001 Scopus 2-s2.0-84864531488 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess 19th century life course old age mortality social differences in mortality Sundsvall region Sweden Economic History Ekonomisk historia Article in journal info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2012 ftumeauniv https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2012.26.23 2023-09-22T13:59:42Z BACKGROUND Social position is one of the major determinants of health. Less is known about its effect in historical contexts. Previous studies have shown surprisingly small effects of social class in working age populations. Not much is known about social differences in health among the elderly in history. OBJECTIVE The present paper analyses social differences in health among the elderly (60+) in the Sundsvall region in northern Sweden during the 19th century. We investigate whether social mortality differences are particularly apparent in old age when unpropertied groups lost their most important asset for survival: their capacity to work. METHODS The data, representing 9,535 fatal events, are analysed using a Cox regression model, assuming proportional hazards. RESULTS Social class had no significant effect for women during the pre-industrial period, while only those with unknown social position had higher mortality among men. During the industrial period female mortality was lowest in the skilled working class and highest in the upper class. Social position was not significant for men in the full model. Urban mortality was 30% higher for women and 59% higher for men during the pre-industrial period compared to the peripheral parishes. CONCLUSIONS The results lead us to question the accepted 'fact' of social health differences as a historical constant. Higher social position did not lead to better survival, and social differences in mortality did not increase in old age, despite the fact that the elderly were a highly vulnerable group. Instead, the spatial aspects of mortality were important, particularly during the pre-industrial period. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden Umeå University: Publications (DiVA) Demographic Research 26 633 660 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Umeå University: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftumeauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
19th century life course old age mortality social differences in mortality Sundsvall region Sweden Economic History Ekonomisk historia |
spellingShingle |
19th century life course old age mortality social differences in mortality Sundsvall region Sweden Economic History Ekonomisk historia Edvinsson, Sören Broström, Göran Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden |
topic_facet |
19th century life course old age mortality social differences in mortality Sundsvall region Sweden Economic History Ekonomisk historia |
description |
BACKGROUND Social position is one of the major determinants of health. Less is known about its effect in historical contexts. Previous studies have shown surprisingly small effects of social class in working age populations. Not much is known about social differences in health among the elderly in history. OBJECTIVE The present paper analyses social differences in health among the elderly (60+) in the Sundsvall region in northern Sweden during the 19th century. We investigate whether social mortality differences are particularly apparent in old age when unpropertied groups lost their most important asset for survival: their capacity to work. METHODS The data, representing 9,535 fatal events, are analysed using a Cox regression model, assuming proportional hazards. RESULTS Social class had no significant effect for women during the pre-industrial period, while only those with unknown social position had higher mortality among men. During the industrial period female mortality was lowest in the skilled working class and highest in the upper class. Social position was not significant for men in the full model. Urban mortality was 30% higher for women and 59% higher for men during the pre-industrial period compared to the peripheral parishes. CONCLUSIONS The results lead us to question the accepted 'fact' of social health differences as a historical constant. Higher social position did not lead to better survival, and social differences in mortality did not increase in old age, despite the fact that the elderly were a highly vulnerable group. Instead, the spatial aspects of mortality were important, particularly during the pre-industrial period. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Edvinsson, Sören Broström, Göran |
author_facet |
Edvinsson, Sören Broström, Göran |
author_sort |
Edvinsson, Sören |
title |
Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden |
title_short |
Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden |
title_full |
Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden |
title_fullStr |
Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden |
title_full_unstemmed |
Old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th Century Northern Sweden |
title_sort |
old age, health and social inequality : exploring the social patterns of mortality in 19th century northern sweden |
publisher |
Centrum för befolkningsstudier (CBS) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-45755 https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2012.26.23 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_relation |
Demographic Research, 1435-9871, 2012, 26, s. 23- orcid:0000-0001-7439-002X http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-45755 doi:10.4054/DemRes.2012.26.23 ISI:000305807800001 Scopus 2-s2.0-84864531488 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2012.26.23 |
container_title |
Demographic Research |
container_volume |
26 |
container_start_page |
633 |
op_container_end_page |
660 |
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1779318107894972416 |