The Hazards of Wealth: Adult Mortality in Pre-Twentieth-Century England

Gendered death risks among disabled individuals in Sweden

“…This parallels the findings of previous mortality researchers, such as Peter Razzel and Christine Spence, who found no correlation between social status and mortality in England until the late 19th century. 59 For the case of Sweden, neither did Sören Edvinsson found any connections between social status and mortality during the 19th century in the Sundsvall region nor did Tommy Bengtsson and Martin Dribe found any in Scania in southern Sweden. 60 This study is rare in providing statistical evidence based on a comprehensive quantity of cases on how disabled individuals in past societies experienced death.…”

Old age, health and social inequality

“…The results from different studies have diverged (see, e.g., Razzell and Spence 2006;Woods and Williams 1995), with some reporting substantial differences, and many finding surprisingly small differences (for an overview, see Bengtsson and van Poppel 2011). Nevertheless, it is certainly not obvious that historical societies were characterized by the assumed social inequalities in survival.…”

Socioeconomic and cultural differentials in mortality in a late 19th century urban setting: A linked records study from Tartu, Estonia, 1897-1900

“…Another way of explaining the absence of a socioeconomic mortality gradient involves factors that counteracted and nullified the advantages of possessing greater wealth. A review of English historical evidence provides an impressive list of risk factors affecting the higher strata, including an unhealthy diet, excessive consumption of food, alcohol, and tobacco, and lack of physical activity (Razzell and Spence 2006). It has also been argued that the indoor environment of white-collar workers exposed them to a greater risk of tuberculosis (Ferrie 2003).…”

“…By contrast, the advantage of upper-level non-manual occupations is virtually non-existent for men. Guided by the literature (Razzell and Spence 2006;Edvinsson and Lindkvist 2011), we are inclined to believe that sex-specific life-style factors overrode the advantage of greater wealth for men.…”