Abstract
Two distinctive mortality trends emerged in Europe between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s. Eastern European mortality rates remained constant for women over 40 and increased substantially for men over 35, while mortality in Western Europe decreased considerably above age 35 for women and men. I examine causes of deaths, using Pollard's method of decomposing changes in life expectancy into components specific to each age group and cause of death. Western European success in coping with circulatory system diseases at middle-to-old ages are by far the most important cause for the differing trends. Western Europe was also more successful in lowering mortality from malignant neoplasms and digestive and respiratory system diseases primarily at middle-to-old ages.
Résumé
Deux tendances distinctes de la mortalité apparaissent en Europe entre le milieu des années 60 et le milieu des années 80. Les taux de mortalité des pays d'Europe de l'Est restent constants pour les femmes de plus de 40 ans alors qu'ils croissent de façon substantielle pour les hommes de plus de 35 ans. En revanche en Europe occidentale les taux de mortalité décroissent fortement, tant pour les hommes que pour les femmes de plus de 35 ans. Nous examinons les causes de décès, en utilisant la méthode proposée par Pollard de décomposition des changements d'espérance de vie en composantes spécifiques pour chaque groupe d'âges et chaque cause de décès. Les succès des pays d'Europe occidentale en ce qui concerne les maladies de l'appareil circulatoire, tant aux âges moyens qu'aux âges avancés, sont de loin la cause prépondérante des différences observées. Les pays d'Europe occidentale ont également réussi à diminuer la mortalité due aux tumeurs malignes du système digestif et de l'appareil respiratoire aux âges moyens et avancés.
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Guo, G. Mortality trends and causes of death: A comparison between Eastern and Western Europe, 1960s–1980s. Eur J Population 9, 287–312 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01266021
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01266021