title: Unequal geographic distribution of life expectancy in Seoul.
abstract: This study examined life expectancies in 25 gus, administrative districts of Seoul, the capital of Korea, by gender in 1995, 2002, and 2008 to explore trends in mortality inequality among areas. The authors constructed single-decrement life tables and employed between-group variance, the Theil index, and mean log deviation to measure absolute and relative disparities in life expectancy among areas during the periods 1995-2002 and 2002-2008. It was found that life expectancy gaps between gus have widened in absolute and relative terms in both genders over the decade, and that this pattern was particularly dramatic in females after 2002. This increasing gap could be attributable to the more negative health impact on females since the late 1990s stemming from the economic crisis, eventually reflected in their places of residence. Thus, a social buffer system to narrow the health gap between geographic areas and social classes must be established.
authors.affiliation: Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sangmi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seonju
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Meekyung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Market Access, LEO Pharma Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore.
authors.forename: Bokyung
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hwayoung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea Statistics Korea, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Taekryeon
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea youngtae@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Youngtae
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D062305:Geographic Mapping; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D066106:Seoul / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors