title: Long-term trends of inequalities in mortality in 6 European countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to assess whether trends in inequalities in mortality during the period 1970-2010 differed between Finland, Norway, England and Wales, France, Italy (Turin) and Hungary.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total and cause-specific mortality data by educational level and, if available, occupational class were collected and harmonized. Both relative and absolute measures of inequality in mortality were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all countries except Hungary, all-cause mortality declined strongly over time in all socioeconomic groups. Relative inequalities in all-cause mortality generally increased, but more so in Hungary and Norway than elsewhere. Absolute inequalities often narrowed, but went up in Hungary and Norway. As a result of these trends, Hungary (where inequalities in mortality where almost absent in the 1970s) and Norway (where inequalities in the 1970s were among the smallest of the six countries in this study) now have larger inequalities in mortality than the other four countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While some countries have experienced dramatic setbacks, others have made substantial progress in reducing inequalities in mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rianne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Gelder
authors.affiliation: UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP UMRS 1136), Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Gwenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Menvielle
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Demographic Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Katalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kovács
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martikainen
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Bjørn Heine
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Strand
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. j.mackenbach@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Johan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Mackenbach
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends*; D004522:Educational Status; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D012042:Registries; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Europe; Mortality; Socioeconomic inequalities; Trends