Table 8 Relationship between causes of death and socio-economic groups: Summary of the relationship between causes of death, female and male socio-economic groups with highest and (↑) and lowest (↓) mortality and potential determinants. Please refer to the text for a more detailed discussion.
From: Socio-economic status and overall and cause-specific mortality in Sweden
Cause of death | Socio-economic group with highest/lowest mortality risk | Potential determinates |
|---|---|---|
Cardiovascular disease | female farmhand ↑ female employer ↓ male military personnel ↓1 | Risk factors (high blood pressure, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity) varying among female and male socio-economic groups |
Lung cancer | female service worker ↑ female farmer ↓ male farmer ↓1 | Smoking |
Prostate cancer | male service worker ↑1 | Low PSA screening |
Breast cancer | female white-collar worker ↑ female farmhand ↓ | Access to screening, stage at diagnosis, reproductive history, age at first parturition, hormone replacement therapy |
Overall respiratory disease | female farmhand ↑ female white-collar worker ↓ male service worker ↑ male military personnel ↓ | Smoking, air pollution, allergens |
COPD | female/male service worker ↑ female/male farmer ↓ | Smoking, exposure to pollutants, allergies and asthma |
Overall endocrine nutritional and metabolic disease/diabetes mellitus | female farmhand ↑ female employer ↓ male service worker ↑ male military personnel ↓ | Overweight, smoking, physical inactivity |