Meenal Budhiraja1, Jonas Landberg2. 1. Centre for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 2. The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN), Stockholm, Sweden jonas.landberg@ki.se.
Abstract
AIM: To examine whether apparent stability of overall alcohol-related mortality in Sweden during a period when traditionally strict alcohol policies went through a series of liberalizations and overall alcohol mortality remained stable, concealed a heterogeneity across socioeconomic groups (defined by educational level); and whether an increase occurred in the contribution of alcohol-related mortality to overall mortality differentials. METHODS: Drawing on cause of death data linked to census records for the period 1991-2006, we computed annual age-standardized and sex-specific rates of alcohol-related mortality for groups with low, intermediate and high education. RESULTS: Alcohol-related mortality was considerably higher in lower educational groups for both men and women. For men, the trends in alcohol-related mortality were roughly stable for all education groups, and there were no signs of increasing inequalities by education. For women, alcohol-related mortality increased significantly for the low-education group whereas the two higher education groups showed no significant time trends, thus resulting in a widened educational gap in alcohol mortality for women. Alcohol's contribution to the overall mortality differentials declined for men and was basically unchanged for women. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide only partial support to the hypothesis that the liberalizations of Swedish alcohol policy have been followed by a general increase in socioeconomic disparities in alcohol-related mortality.
AIM: To examine whether apparent stability of overall alcohol-related mortality in Sweden during a period when traditionally strict alcohol policies went through a series of liberalizations and overall alcohol mortality remained stable, concealed a heterogeneity across socioeconomic groups (defined by educational level); and whether an increase occurred in the contribution of alcohol-related mortality to overall mortality differentials. METHODS: Drawing on cause of death data linked to census records for the period 1991-2006, we computed annual age-standardized and sex-specific rates of alcohol-related mortality for groups with low, intermediate and high education. RESULTS:Alcohol-related mortality was considerably higher in lower educational groups for both men and women. For men, the trends in alcohol-related mortality were roughly stable for all education groups, and there were no signs of increasing inequalities by education. For women, alcohol-related mortality increased significantly for the low-education group whereas the two higher education groups showed no significant time trends, thus resulting in a widened educational gap in alcohol mortality for women. Alcohol's contribution to the overall mortality differentials declined for men and was basically unchanged for women. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide only partial support to the hypothesis that the liberalizations of Swedish alcohol policy have been followed by a general increase in socioeconomic disparities in alcohol-related mortality.
Authors: Katherine J Karriker-Jaffe; Sara L Lönn; Won K Cook; Kenneth S Kendler; Kristina Sundquist Journal: Health Place Date: 2018-01-12 Impact factor: 4.078
Authors: Marta Donat; Gregorio Barrio; Juan-Miguel Guerras; Lidia Herrero; José Pulido; María-José Belza; Enrique Regidor Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-04-05 Impact factor: 3.390