A.J. Fox

Social class mortality differentials: artefact, selection or life circumstances?

Data from 10 years follow up of mortality in the OPCS Longitudinal Study are used to relate deaths of men in 1976-81 to their social class as recorded by the 1971 census. Explanations of social class mortality differentials are critically reviewed in the light of these new data. The similarity between the class differentials observed for men aged 15-64 years in this study and those reported in the 1970-2 Decennial Supplement on Occupational Mortality indicate that the published gradients were not in fact grossly distorted by numerator denominator biases. Distortions to gradients observed in the early years of the longitudinal study and ascribed to selective health related mobility out of employment from the principal social classes to the permanently sick had largely worn off after five years of follow up. Sharp gradients at ages over 75 years, similar to those at younger ages, suggest that, for men aged over 50 years, selective health related mobility between social classes does not contribute to differentials in mortality.

Unemployment and mortality in the OPCS Longitudinal Study.

The mortality of men aged 15-64 who were seeking work in the week before the 1971 census was investigated by means of the OPCS Longitudinal Study, which follows up a 1% sample of the population of England and Wales. In contrast to the current position, only 4% of men of working age in 1971 fell into this category. The mortality of these unemployed men in the period 1971-81 was higher (standardised mortality ratio 136) than would be expected from death rates in all men in the Longitudinal Study. The socioeconomic distribution of the unemployed accounts for some of the raised mortality, but, after allowance for this, a 20-30% excess remains; this excess was apparent both in 1971-75 and in 1976-81. The data offer only limited support for the suggestion that some of this excess resulted from men becoming unemployed because of their ill-health; the trend in overall mortality over time and the pattern by cause of death were not those usually associated with ill-health selection. Previous studies have suggested that stress accompanying unemployment could be associated with raised suicide rates, as were again found here. Moreover, the mortality of women whose husbands were unemployed was higher than that of all married women (standardised mortality ratio 120), and this excess also persisted after allowance for their socioeconomic distribution. The results support findings by others that unemployment is associated with adverse effects on health.

Unemployment and mortality: comparison of the 1971 and 1981 longitudinal study census samples.

Mortality in the period 1981-3 among men in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys longitudinal study who were seeking work in 1981 was examined to investigate whether the finding of a high mortality rate among a comparable group of men who were followed up from the 1971 Census was repeated despite appreciable changes in the size and structure of the labour force over the intervening years. The pattern of mortality shortly after both censuses suggests that sick unemployed men were not categorised as seeking work, and it is concluded that for both samples the mortality of those who were reported to be seeking work was raised for reasons other than initial poor health. Other findings from the two censuses are also broadly similar. If confirmed after longer follow up this will add considerably to the evidence of the adverse health consequences of unemployment.

Unemployment and mortality.

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UNEMPLOYMENT AND MORTALITY: FURTHER EVIDENCE FROM THE OPCS LONGITUDINAL STUDY 1971-81

The relationship between unemployment and mortality in England and Wales is examined using data from the OPCS Longitudinal Study for the period 1971-1981. The authors extend a previous analysis conducted in 1984 in two ways. They first investigate whether the combination of regional differences in unemployment and in mortality could have contributed to [their] earlier findings of excess mortality among the unemployed. [They] then widen the scope of previous results by extending [their] analysis of mortality of wives of men seeking work to cover all women in households containing a man who was aged 15-64 and seeking work in 1971. (EXCERPT)

Motoneuron disease: a disorder secondary to solvent exposure?

There seems to be a statistically significant association between work in the leather industry and subsequent development of motoneuron disease. The reason for this association may be occupational exposure to solvents, which may damage motoneurons either directly or through activation of latent virus.

Migration during early married life

A one per cent sample drawn from the 1971 Census (the OPCS Longitudinal Study) was used to study the migration patterns of women in the early years of first marriage. Information from the retrospective fertility and migration history contained in the 1971 Census record was analyzed and the results show migration at, or soon after, marriage to be almost universal. Marriage migrants constituted a quarter of all one-year within-county movers and a fifth of inter-regional movers among women aged 16–29. In the early years of marriage differentials in migration rates according to duration of marriage were greater than differentials associated with age or with husbands change of occupation. The pattern of migration around marriage varied according to a number of socio-economic factors. The timing of the first and subsequent births early in marriage was found to have little effect on migration rates once allowance for duration of marriage was made in the analysis. The results of the study demonstrate the value of the OPCS Longitudinal Study as a source of migration data.RésuméLe comportement migratoire des femmes dans les premières années de leur premier mariage a été étudié sur un échantillon dun pour cent du recensement britannique de 1971 (létude longitudinale de lOPCS). Daprès les renseignements recueillis par le recensement sur la vie génésique et migratoire, la migration lors du mariage ou peu après est quasi universelle. Chez les femmes de 16–29 ans, les migrantes jeunes mariées représentent le quart des migrantes locales (qui ne changent pas de comté) et le cinquième des migrantes inter-régionales. Dans les premières années du mariage, les différences observées dans les indices de migration selon la durée du mariage sont supérieures à celles liées à lâge ou au changement demploi du mari. Le comportement migratoire aux alentours du mariage varie avec différents facteurs socio-économiques. Lanalyse montre que le calendrier des premières naissances, au début du mariage, na que peu deffet sur les indices de migration une fois contrôlée la durée du mariage. Létude longitudinale d elOPCS savère être une excellente source de données sur la migration.