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. 2012 Aug 1;77(4):548-572.
doi: 10.1177/0003122412451019.

Educational Differences in U.S. Adult Mortality: A Cohort Perspective

Ryan K Masters  1 , Robert A Hummer  2 , Daniel A Powers  2
Affiliations

Educational Differences in U.S. Adult Mortality: A Cohort Perspective

Ryan K Masters et al. Am Sociol Rev. .

Abstract

We use hierarchical cross-classified random-effects models to simultaneously measure age, period, and cohort patterns of mortality risk between 1986 and 2006 for non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black men and women with less than a high school education, a high school education, and more than a high school education. We examine all-cause mortality risk and mortality risk from heart disease, lung cancer, and unpreventable cancers. Findings reveal that temporal reductions in black and white men's and women's mortality rates were driven entirely by cohort changes in mortality. Findings also demonstrate that disparate cohort effects between education groups widened the education gap in all-cause mortality risk and mortality risk from heart disease and lung cancer across this time period. Educational disparities in mortality risk from unpreventable cancers, however, did not change. This research uncovers widening educational differences in adult mortality and demonstrates that a cohort perspective provides valuable insights for understanding recent temporal changes in U.S. mortality risk.

Keywords: age-period-cohort; disparities; education; mortality; trends.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Educational Differences in HAPC-CCREM Estimated Mortality Rates across Age, Black and White Men and Women, NHIS-LMF 1986 to 2004
Figure 2
Figure 2
Educational Differences in HAPC-CCREM Estimated Mortality Rates across Birth Cohort, Black and White Men and Women, NHIS-LMF 1986 to 2004
Figure 3
Figure 3
Educational Differences in HAPC-CCREM Estimated Mortality Rates across Time Periods, Black and White Men and Women, NHIS-LMF 1986 to 2004
Figure 4
Figure 4
Educational Differences in HAPC-CCREM Estimated Mortality Rates from Specific Causes of Death across Age and Cohort, White Men, NHIS-LMF 1986 to 2004
Figure 4
Figure 4
Educational Differences in HAPC-CCREM Estimated Mortality Rates from Specific Causes of Death across Age and Cohort, White Women, NHIS-LMF 1986 to 2004
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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