Shifting sex differentials in mortality during urban epidemiological transition: the case of Victorian London

Abstract

Unlike some forms of mortality inequality, sex differentials in England and Wales increased unequivocally during the Victorian era. A gradual reversal of this trend was observed only recently. The origin of the widened mortality gap between males and females lies in the transformation of the epidemiological landscape during the second half of the nineteenth century, from one where epidemic and endemic infectious diseases dominated, to one where chronic, degenerative conditions began to prevail. This so-called`epidemiological transition' had differential impacts on males and females through time and in space, partly because mortality change was mediated by socially constructed gender roles. Research on rural and urban contrasts has shown consistent excess female mortality in youth and early adulthood. But because London did not exhibit this particular sex bias in the Victorian period, examination of internal variations in the capital offers an opportunity to explore the in¯uence of factors that varied within the urban environment. Using life table decomposition, the article reveals that contrasts in cause-speci®c mortality between boys and girls and elderly men and women contributed most forcefully to overall male/ female differences in life expectation at birth.

Neuropsychological screening performance and the association with activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living in dementia: baseline and 18‐ to 24‐month follow‐up

“…Copeland et al , ). Furthermore, women live longer, and their prevalence is higher as they get older (Mooney, ). Some non‐cognitive variables such as mood were not collected in this study but are likely to play an important role in everyday functioning.…”

The weaker sex? Vulnerable men and women’s resilience to socio-economic disadvantage

“…We then study patterns using a wide swath of available mortality data, within and between developing and developed countries and over the time periods for which reasonably reliable data are available. Of particular interest is the observed relationship between sex differences in mortality and other changes related to the demographic and epidemiologic transition ( Mooney, 2002 , Omran, 1971 ), since this relationship facilitates comparison of changes in developed countries—from which almost all published work on this subject has emerged—to those presently evolving in developing countries at an earlier phase of transition. We limit quantitative analyses to correlations and basic regressions, using markers of socioeconomic condition within and between countries based on available measures; it is not our intent to test the causal relationship between any specific factor(s) and sex differences in mortality, but rather to identify patterns to encourage such testing in future research.…”

The Weaker Sex? Vulnerable Men, Resilient Women, and Variations in Sex Differences in Mortality since 1900

“…We focus exclusively on variation in sex-specific mortality ratios. Of particular interest is the relationship between SDIM and "demographic and epidemiologic transition," that period in the history of most regions of the world when transformation of the economy occurred in close association with marked demographic changes including reduction in fertility and maternal mortality rates, better nutrition and control of infectious disease, and rapid improvements in life expectancy (Mooney 2002;Omran 1971). We adopt this perspective as a means for relating changes in SDIM in developed countries-from which almost all published work on this subject has emerged-to those presently evolving in other parts of the world, an approach that suggests the patterns we identify may constitute a more general "SDIM transition".…”