title: Time trends in socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality: results from a 35 year prospective study in British men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality in Britain have been shown to be present in the 1990s and early 2000s. Little is known about on-going patterns in such inequalities in cancer mortality. We examined time trends in socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality in Britain between 1978 and 2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  A socially representative cohort of 7489 British men with data on longest-held occupational social class, followed up for 35 years, in whom 1484 cancer deaths occurred.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hazard ratio for cancer mortality for manual vs. non-manual social classes remained unchanged; among men aged 50-59 years it was 1.62 (95%CI 1.17-2.24) between 1980-1990 and 1.65 (95%CI 1.14-2.40) between 1990-2000. The absolute difference (non-manual minus manual) in probability of surviving death from cancer to 70 years remained at 3% over the follow-up. The consistency of risks over time was similar for both smoking-related and non-smoking related cancer mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality in Britain remain unchanged over the last 35 years and need to be urgently addressed.
authors: Department of Primary Care & Population Health, UCL, London, UK. s.ramsay@ucl.ac.uk.
authors: Sheena E
authors: SE
authors: Ramsay
authors: Richard W
authors: RW
authors: Morris
authors: Peter H
authors: PH
authors: Whincup
authors: Anna Olia
authors: AO
authors: Papacosta
authors: Lucy T
authors: LT
authors: Lennon
authors: Sasiwarang Goya
authors: SG
authors: Wannamethee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology