New Epidemiology and Community Health Findings from Hannover Medical School Discussed (Widening income inequalities in life expectancy? Analysing time trends based on German health insurance data)

2020 APR 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A new study on Health and Disease - Epidemiology and Community Health is now available. According to news reporting originating from Hanover, Germany, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “While social disparities in mortality have been shown in the majority of high-income countries, research on inequalities in the German population is still limited. This applies especially to studies investigating time trends in social inequalities with respect to life expectancy.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Hannover Medical School, “The aim of this study is to examine income inequalities in life expectancy and whether inequalities have narrowed or widened over time. The analyses are based on the claims data of a large German health insurance provider, which facilitates the combining of information on individual income and mortality. Life expectancy is calculated separately for three income groups (<60%, 60% to 80% and 80% of the average income in Germany) and for sex by applying period life table analyses. Trends are assessed by comparing the time periods 2005-2008 (N=1 773 122), 2009-2012 (N=1 792 735) and 2013-2016 (N=1 987 114). Trends in life expectancy differed by sex, age and income group. Especially among elderly men, the gap between low-and high-income groups widened over time, disadvantaging men with low incomes. Among women, a slight reduction in inequalities was observed, which was driven by the increases in life expectancy in low-income groups. Our study shows that not all population subgroups benefitted equally from the continuing rise in life expectancy. The persisting inequalities emphasise the importance of public health efforts concentrating on reducing mortality risks among individuals in lower socioeconomic positions. Special attention should be paid to elderly men with low incomes.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Further research is needed on the mechanisms underlying increasing health inequalities over time.”

For more information on this research see: Widening income inequalities in life expectancy? Analysing time trends based on German health insurance data. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2020;():jech-2019-212966. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health can be contacted at: B M J Publishing Group, British Med Assoc House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR, England. (BMJ Publishing Group - http://group.bmj.com/; Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health - http://jech.bmj.com/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting F. Tetzlaff, Institute for General Practice, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany. Additional authors for this research include J. Epping, S. Sperlich and J. Tetzlaff.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2019-212966. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health is: B M J Publishing Group, British Med Assoc House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR, England.

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