In Spain, between 2010 and 2019, an in-depth study reveals that income level strongly influences the risk of death, varying by age, gender, and cause of mortality. The analyzed data covers over 4 million deaths and 466 million person-years, providing a precise view of socioeconomic disparities in the face of death.<\/p>\n
The results show that individuals with the lowest incomes face an increased risk of dying from circulatory, respiratory, digestive, infectious, endocrine, or genitourinary diseases. These disparities are particularly pronounced among young adults and middle-aged individuals. For example, for circulatory diseases, the risk can be up to 50% higher among individuals in the lowest income deciles compared to the average. These inequalities gradually diminish with age but remain visible even among seniors.<\/p>\n
Cancers, mental disorders, and external causes exhibit more complex patterns. For tumors, women over 55 sometimes show a slightly higher risk in higher-income groups, a phenomenon that could be explained by differences in lifestyle, access to screening, or healthcare management. Mental and behavioral disorders affect men aged 40 to 59 from disadvantaged backgrounds more, reflecting inequalities in exposure to stress, substance use, or access to psychological care.<\/p>\n
Respiratory and digestive diseases show particularly pronounced income gradients, especially among men. These gaps could be linked to behavioral factors such as alcohol consumption or riskier working conditions. Diseases of the nervous system, on the other hand, see their link with income reverse among the elderly, where affluent groups sometimes face a higher risk.<\/p>\n
This study highlights the persistent impact of economic inequalities on health. Disadvantaged populations accumulate disadvantages throughout their lives, whether through exposure to less healthy environments, limited access to healthcare, or more frequent risky behaviors. Public health policies should therefore prioritize these groups, particularly for chronic diseases and lifestyle-related disorders, where the gaps are most pronounced.<\/p>\n
Among women, the absence of inequalities\u2014or even their reversal for certain cancers\u2014could be explained by the effectiveness of the Spanish healthcare system, particularly through universal screening programs like mammography. However, the recent increase in smoking among women, traditionally less affected, is beginning to erode these advantages.<\/p>\n
The study also emphasizes that inequalities vary by gender. Men show more pronounced gradients for respiratory diseases, cancers, and external causes, while women are more affected by disparities related to circulatory or endocrine diseases. These differences reflect distinct exposures to risk factors, as well as biological and social mechanisms specific to each gender.<\/p>\n
In summary, this analysis confirms that income plays a central role in mortality, with effects that evolve according to age, gender, and cause of death. These findings call for tailored prevention strategies capable of reducing disparities from the early stages of adulthood, where inequalities are strongest.<\/p>\n
DOI:<\/strong> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10198-026-01943-2<\/a><\/p>\n Title:<\/strong> The socioeconomic gradient in mortality by cause of death, age and sex in Spain<\/p>\n Journal:<\/strong> The European Journal of Health Economics<\/p>\n Publisher:<\/strong> Springer Science and Business Media LLC<\/p>\n Authors:<\/strong> Josep Lled\u00f3; Jose M. Pav\u00eda<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do Income Inequalities Influence Cause-Specific Mortality in Spain? In Spain, between 2010 and 2019, an in-depth study reveals that income level strongly influences the risk of death, varying by age, gender, and cause of mortality. The analyzed data covers over 4 million deaths and 466 million person-years, providing a precise view of socioeconomic disparities in… Continue reading Do Income Inequalities Influence Cause-Specific Mortality in Spain?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-health","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28,"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crseh.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}