Socioeconomic Inequalities in Stroke Mortality Among Middle-Aged Men

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Abstract
Background and Purpose—Several studies observed that people from lower socioeconomic groups have higher chances of dying of stroke. There are reasons to expect that these differences are relatively small in southern European countries or in Nordic welfare states. This report therefore presents an international overview of socioeconomic differences in stroke mortality. Methods—Unpublished data on mortality by occupational class were obtained from national longitudinal studies or cross-sectional studies. The data refer to deaths among men aged 30 to 64 years in the 1980s. A common occupational class scheme was applied to most countries. The mortality difference between manual classes and nonmanual classes was measured in relative terms (by rate ratios) and in absolute terms (by rate differences). Results—In all countries, manual classes had higher stroke mortality rates than nonmanual classes. This difference was relatively large in England and Wales, Ireland, and Finland and relatively small in Sweden, Nor...