Special Collection 2 - Article 12 | Pages 305–330
Increasing excess mortality among non-married elderly people in developed countries
By Tapani Valkonen, Pekka Martikainen, Jenni Blomgren
This article is part of the Special Collection 2 "Determinants of Diverging Trends in Mortality"
Abstract
This article analyses changes in marital status differences in mortality from approximately 1970 to 1995 among men and women aged 65-74 in ten developed countries (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England and Wales, Finland, France, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden). Data were obtained from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks and national statistical sources.
According to the results there has been a trend towards increasing excess mortality among single men compared to married men and single, divorced and widowed women compared to married women in most western European countries and Canada in the 1980s and 1990s. This has been brought about by a more rapid decline in mortality among married persons and a slower decline or even an increase among non-married persons. In Japan the excess mortality of non-married men and women decreased.
Author's Affiliation
- Tapani Valkonen - Helsingin Yliopisto (University of Helsinki), Finland EMAIL
- Pekka Martikainen - Helsingin Yliopisto (University of Helsinki), Finland EMAIL
- Jenni Blomgren - Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos (National Institute for Health and Welfare), Finland EMAIL
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