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Socioeconomic status: the prime indicator of premature death in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

James S. Lawson  and
Deborah Black
James S. Lawson
Affiliation:
School of Health Services Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Deborah Black
Affiliation:
School of Health Services Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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Summary

The link between socioeconomic status and health has long been recognised. This study of deaths among Australian men aged 15–59 years demonstrates that during the 20-year period, 1966–86 the number of premature deaths was dramatically reduced among all socioeconomic groups, primarily as a result of falls in death rates due to heart disease, stroke and trauma. However, the marked differences in death rates according to social class remain, to the extent that if men of all social classes had the same mortality experiences as professional and technical workers the overall death rates for Australian men would be reduced by 60%. Socioeconomic status is the most important indicator of health status among Australians.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , October 1993 , pp. 539 - 552
Copyright
Copyright © 1993, Cambridge University Press

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