Eames M, Ben-Shlomo Y, Marmot MG. Social deprivation and premature mortality: regional comparison across England. British Medical Journal. 1993;307:1097-1102.
The authors performed an ecological study in England to investigate the pattern and size of the relationship between social deprivation in electoral wards and premature mortality. Using 1981 census variables and data on mortality for 1981-85, the researchers investigated this relationship for each of England 's 14 health regions. The primary outcome measure was mortality under age 65 from all causes, coronary heart disease, and smoking-related diseases in men and women. This study found a strong link between the social deprivation of an area and premature mortality. There was a linear relationship between area deprivation and all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease, and smoking-related diseases in England. This relationship indicates that the effects of place are not limited to the poorest areas. The authors note that there were variations in mortality between regions with equal levels of deprivation, they but suggest that current targets for reducing coronary heart disease mortality may be achievable if the mortality in poor areas can be reduced to the rates in affluent areas.
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