Explaining age-specific inequalities in mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease and ischaemic heart disease among South Korean male public servants: relative and absolute perspectives

Abstract

Policy efforts to eliminate major cardiovascular risk factors in the general population may have a significant effect on reducing the absolute burden of socioeconomic inequality in mortality. Policy efforts to attenuate socioeconomic inequality in cardiovascular risk factors need to be directed to younger age groups in South Korea.

Social Determinants of Risk and Outcomes for Cardiovascular Disease

“…34,[268][269][270][271][272][273][274] This is an important consideration because it may be possible to use clinical 109 and public health interventions 92 to reduce this burden, thereby narrowing health disparities. Second, social and economic stresses lead to a biological wear and tear, or allostatic stress response, [275][276][277][278][279][280] involving a number of pathways, including stimulation of stress hormones, [280][281][282] inflammation, 283 endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, vascular hyperreactivity, 270,274,[284][285][286][287] and metabolic disturbances. 270,285,288,289 Third, the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage in utero and in early childhood have long-term anatomical and physiological effects that lead to CVD in adulthood.…”

Understanding the Rapid Increase in Life Expectancy in South Korea

“…These causes jointly reduced longevity by 0.8 years (-6%) in males and 1.6 (-15%) years in females. Although IHD mortality has markedly increased in Korea during the past 2 decades, 45 59 and breast cancer 60 among recent Korean birth cohorts. Therefore, preventing deaths from smoking-and diet-related causes will be 1 of the major challenges for public health efforts to further extend life expectancy in Korea.…”

Self-rated health and mortality: gender- and age-specific contributions of explanatory factors in South Korea

“…Prior studies in Korea as well as Western countries showed less significant relationship between socioeconomic status and mortality among elders than young adults (Huisman et al 2005;Khang and Kim 2005b;Khang et al 2004). Decreasing RHs of all-cause mortality by clinical risk factors with increasing age have been reported in Korea (Khang et al 2008). Older age groups reportedly had smaller RHs by marital status compared to their younger (Goldman et al 1995;Johnson et al 2000).…”