title: Social inequalities in life expectancy and mortality during the transition period of economic crisis (1993-2010) in Korea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examines social inequalities in life expectancy and mortality during the transition period of the Korean economic crisis (1993-2010) among Korean adults aged 40 and over.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the census and the national death file from the Statistics Korea are employed to calculate life expectancy and age-specific-death-rates (ASDR) by age, gender, and educational attainment for five years: 1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010. Absolute and relative differences in life expectancy and Age-Specific Death Rates by educational attainment were utilized as proxy measures of social inequality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clear educational gradient of life expectancy was observed at age 40 by both sexes and across five time periods (1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010). The gradient became notably worse in females between 1993 and 2010 compared to the trend in males. The educational gradient was also found for ASDR in all five years, but it was more pronounced in working age groups (40s and 50s) than in elderly groups. The relative disadvantage of ASDR among working age Korean adults, both males and females, became substantially worse over time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social inequalities in life expectancy and ASDR of the working age group across socioeconomic status over time were closely related to the widening of the social difference created by the macroeconomic crisis and the expansion of neo-liberalism in Korea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical College, Kangwon National University, Kangwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Mia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Youngtae
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Juhwan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kawachi
authors.forename: Junhyeok
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Soonman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D057172:Economic Recession / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors