Social inequality in mortality has increased in many countries worldwide and does not appear to be levelling off. Denmark is no exception, and the latest developments are presented in this short communication.
Methods:
Trends in life expectancy and changes in the shape of the age-at-death distribution are calculated from nationwide register data on income and education linked to mortality data.
Results:
Since 1987, the difference in life expectancy between the lowest and highest income quartiles has increased by 5.4 years for men and by 2.0 years for women. The difference in life expectancy (at age 30) between education groups has also increased. The latest developments indicate a decline in life expectancy for men and women in the lowest income quartile and with the shortest education.
Conclusions:
Reducing social inequality in health and mortality has been on the agenda for successive Danish governments for more than 20 years, but social inequality in life expectancy is still increasing.
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