Effect of education and marital status on premature mortality among urban adults in Poland, 1988-1989
Welon, Z.; Bielicki, T.; Rogucka, E.; Malina, R., M.
American Journal of Human Biology 11(3): 397-403
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 1042-0533 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6300(1999)11:3<397::aid-ajhb10>3.0.co;2-0Document Number: 281333
Mortality rates among adults 25-64 years of age (premature mortality) in 1988 and 1989 were compared by educational status (a four-level scale) and marital status (married vs. nonmarried) in three Polish cities situated in ecologically different regions of Poland. Each of the two social factors has a significant influence on mortality after the effect of the other is controlled statistically. The risk of premature death increases regularly with an individual's decreasing position on the educational scale; also, the risk is higher among nonmarried than among married persons. This is true in all three urban populations, at all age levels considered, and in both genders. However, the effects of education and of marital status on premature mortality are more dramatic in males than in females. At middle age, the condition of having no spouse and of being poorly educated each expose males to a greater risk of premature mortality than females.