Disparity in death rates grows between people with different levels of education

A new report finds a striking widening in equality in death rates for all causes between 1993 and 2001 for people with different levels of education (Source: Widening of Socioeconomic Inequalities in U.S. Death Rates, 1993–2001," PlosOne, May 13, 2008).  According to this analysis, the difference in ratio of the death rate between the lowest level of education group (less than 12 years of education) and the highest level of education group (more than 16 years of education) increased from 2.9 to 4.4 times for white men, from 2.1 to 3.4 times for black men, from 2.6 to 3.8 times for white women, and from 1.8 to 2.0 times for black women. 

Among white men, the all cause rate of death for those with the lowest level of education increased from 837 per 100,000 to 931 per 100,000 between 1993 and 2001.  During this same time period, the all cause rate of death for those with the highest level of education fell from 285 to 213 per 100,000.   For white women, the death rate increased from 422 to 533 per 100,000, while it fell among the highest educated from 165 to 146 per 100,000.

This widening disparity in death rates occured because the death rate fell for people with higher levels of education, while it increased for people with lower levels of education.  The analysis finds that the death rate declined for people with the lowest level of education only for HIV infection among white men.  At the same time, death rates fell among the people with the highest level of education for all 15 causes of death analyzed in the study.

The primary causes of death that accounted for the increase in the rate of all cause death for people with less than 12 years of education varies among white men, white women, black men, and black women.  For white men, suicide, accidents, and cancer accounted for 40 percent of the total increase.  For white women, accidents, cancer, heart disease, and COPD accounted for 50 percent of the total increase.  For blacks, accidents and nephritis for men and accidents, HIV, and septicima for women accounted for much of the increase in the all cause death rate.

Ahmedin Jemel of the American Cancer Society and the study's lead author explained the reason behind these findings, stating, “Risk factors are higher in less well-educated groups, and they have less access to preventive medicine and treatment.” (Source: "Two Americas: the death gap," Lab Notes, Newsweek blog, May 13, 2008).