Trends in Socioeconomic Differentials in Mortality and Risk Factor Distributions by Age, Race, and Gender

Irma T. Elo, University of Pennsylvania
Kirsten Smith, University of Pennsylvania

Socioeconomic differentials in health continue to be an important public health concern in the United States and elsewhere. In this paper, we contribute to the literature on socioeconomic inequalities in mortality by examining all-cause and cause-specific mortality trends and changes in risk factor distributions (e.g., obesity, smoking) by gender, race, and educational attainment over time in the United States. Separate analyses are conducted for middle and older ages. The cause-specific investigations together with analyses of risk factor distributions point to areas where public health interventions might be most effective in reducing social class inequalities in health and mortality.