Advances In Cause-Specific Mortality of Highly Educated Married People in Finland, Norway and Sweden

Vladimir Shkolnikov, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Evgueni Andreev, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Dmitri A. Jdanov, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

The best practice (or vanguard) groups within populations are the first going towards the new frontiers of longevity that will eventually be reached by others. There are substantial time lags which refer to time intervals needed for the other population groups to catch up with vanguard group. It suggests an advantage of the vanguard group regarding health behaviors, use of medical care, quality of life and other factors influencing health. In this study, the vanguard as a two-dimensional group of highly educated married people since education and marital status are the two principal health dimensions determining availability of human and social capital. We systematically analyze trends in cause-specific mortality in the vanguard groups and remaining populations in Finland, Norway, and Sweden from the early 1970s to the late 1990s. We examine to what extent the non-vanguard populations follow mortality trajectories of the vanguard group in respect to causes of death.