UC takes part in a study about the evolution of inequality in mortality in Europe and in the USA

The research involved scientists from 15 US and European universities.

CP
Cristina Pinto
28 september, 2021≈ 4 min read

© UC | François Fernandes

Abridged version in English by Diana Taborda

In recent decades, Portugal's mortality inequality indicators have evolved rather favourably, bringing the country closer to the rest of Europe. This is one of the conclusions of an international study in which researchers Paula Santana and Cláudia Costa of the Centre for Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT) of the University of Coimbra (UC) participated.

The research, which involved scientists from 15 US and European universities, focused on analysing the evolution of mortality inequalities in the United States of America (US) compared to Europe between 1990 and 2018. The analysis in the different countries was carried out by age group, gender and poverty level of the place of residence. In the case of the American population, the study also included ethnic disparities.

"In 1990, the mortality of the Portuguese population was very different from that of other European countries, especially among the youngest. However, this changed rapidly and by 2005 the mortality rates were similar to those of the richest countries in Europe," says Paula Santana, full professor at the UC and coordinator of the study on Portugal.

The results of the study, published today in the prestigious PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), the journal of the American Academy of Sciences, conclude that "geographical inequalities in mortality occur mainly among young adults. This means that for children and adolescents, inequalities in mortality are not influenced by where they live: poor and rich areas have the same mortality patterns", say Paula Santana and Cláudia Costa, co-authors of the scientific article.

Comparing the USA with Europe, the results are not good for the American population. The study shows that "in 1990, the life expectancy of Americans in the more affluent areas was slightly lower than that of Europeans. However, the life expectancy of Americans living in the poorest areas was significantly lower. In the case of African Americans, life expectancy has always been lower than that of other Americans and Europeans, in both rich and poor areas," Paula Santana and Cláudia Costa explain.

However, the trend appears to have been positive throughout the period analysed (1990-2018), noting that "by 2018, the gap in life expectancy between African Americans and other Americans had almost disappeared, due to reductions in mortality from malignant tumours, homicide, AIDS, and perinatal or infant deaths. This reduction was greatest in the poorest areas and among the youngest people". It can also be concluded that "the greatest gains in health - reflected in the increase in life expectancy - are due to the reduction in mortality due to proper health care, i.e. causes of death prevented by adequate access to health care", says Cláudia Costa.

However, "despite the improvement in the life expectancy of the African-American population, the reduction in mortality is still insufficient, which puts the US health indicators studied in this article at a disadvantage compared to European indicators," she adds.

The paper "Inequality in Mortality between Black and White Americans by Age, Place, and Cause, and in Comparison to Europe, 1990-2018", follows on from a previous study on the evolution of mortality inequality in 11 OECD countries, including Portugal, published in the Journal of Fiscal Studies. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14755890/2021/42/1).