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Review
. 2004;82(2):355-400.
doi: 10.1111/j.0887-378X.2004.00312.x.

Is income inequality a determinant of population health? Part 2. U.S. National and regional trends in income inequality and age- and cause-specific mortality

John Lynch  1 , George Davey Smith, Sam Harper, Marianne Hillemeier
Affiliations
Review

Is income inequality a determinant of population health? Part 2. U.S. National and regional trends in income inequality and age- and cause-specific mortality

John Lynch et al. Milbank Q. 2004.

Abstract

This article describes U.S. income inequality and 100-year national and 30-year regional trends in age- and cause-specific mortality. There is little congruence between national trends in income inequality and age- or cause-specific mortality except perhaps for suicide and homicide. The variable trends in some causes of mortality may be associated regionally with income inequality. However, between 1978 and 2000 those regions experiencing the largest increases in income inequality had the largest declines in mortality (r= 0.81, p < 0.001). Understanding the social determinants of population health requires appreciating how broad indicators of social and economic conditions are related, at different times and places, to the levels and social distribution of major risk factors for particular health outcomes.

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Figures

Figure 2
Figure 2
U.S. Age-Specific Mortality from All Causes, 1900–1998
Figure 1
Figure 1
U.S. Household Income Inequality, Poverty, and Age-Adjusted All-Cause Mortality, 1900–1998
Figure 4
Figure 4
U.S. Age-Adjusted Mortality Rates from Heart Disease by Sex, 1900–1998
Figure 3
Figure 3
U.S. Race-Specific Heart Disease Mortality, 1900–1998
Figure 5
Figure 5
U.S. Age-Adjusted Heart Disease Mortality, 1900–1998, and U.S. Household Income Inequality, 1913–1996
Figure 6
Figure 6
U.S. Age-Adjusted Heart Disease Mortality and Estimated Annual Adult per Capita Cigarette Consumption, Males and Females, 1900–1998
Figure 7
Figure 7
U.S. Age-Adjusted Death Rates by Race per 100,000 for Vascular Lesions Affecting the Central Nervous System, 1900–1967, and Cerebrovascular Disease, 1968–1998
Figure 8
Figure 8
U.S. Infant Mortality by Race, 1900–1998
Figure 9
Figure 9
U.S. Age-Specific Suicide Rates, 1900–2000
Figure 10
Figure 10
U.S. Age-Specific Homicide Rates, 1900–2000
Figure 12
Figure 12
U.S. Metropolitan Areas’ Income Inequality and per Capita Income, 1990
Figure 11
Figure 11
U.S. Median Income Share and Mortality, 1990
Figure 13
Figure 13
Associations between Income Inequality and Mortality among Metropolitan Areas, within Regions of the United States, 1990
Figure 14
Figure 14
Standard U.S. Census Regions
Figure 15
Figure 15
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in Age-Adjusted All-Cause Mortality, 1968–1998
Figure 16
Figure 16
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in IHD Mortality, 1968–1998
Figure 17
Figure 17
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in Stroke Mortality, 1968–1998
Figure 18
Figure 18
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in Lung Cancer Mortality, 1968–1998
Figure 20
Figure 20
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in Prostate Cancer Mortality, 1968–1998
Figure 19
Figure 19
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in Female Breast Cancer Mortality, 1968–1998
Figure 21
Figure 21
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in Suicide Mortality, 1968–1998
Figure 22
Figure 22
U.S. Regions: 30-Year Trends in Homicide Mortality, 1968–1998
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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