Women's death in Scandinavia--what makes Denmark different?
OBJECTIVE
To compare the mortality for women in Sweden, Norway and Denmark in order to search for clues for the low life expectancy of Danish women.


METHODS
Prospective age-period-cohort study covering 40 years for all Swedish, Norwegian and Danish women aged 40-84 during the period 1960-2000, and born 1900-1950.


METHODS
Relative risks and 95% confidence intervals for deaths.


RESULTS
The high risk of dying among Danish women was associated with being born between the two World Wars, and that a similar pattern was not found for women in Norway and Sweden. A tendency of a cohort effect was observed for Swedish women born around 1940.


CONCLUSIONS
The currently low life expectancy of Danish women compared with that of women in Norway and Sweden is partly a transitional phenomenon caused by excessive death rates for women born between the two World Wars. Data on smoking prevalence by birth cohort and age indicate that a high percentage of Danish women in these cohorts were smokers throughout their adult life.
Jacobsen
Rune
R
Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej, Denmark. R.jacobsen@pubhealth.ku.dk
Von Euler
My
M
Osler
Merete
M
Lynge
Elsebeth
E
Keiding
Niels
N
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000639:trends*; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology