The Late Emergence of the Socioeconomic Gradient in Adult Mortality: An Urban Phenomenon?

Previous research has shown that class differences in adult mortality in the study area emerged only in the mid-twentieth century. Such findings question a universal association between socioeconomic status and mortality. This chapter examines whether these class differences in adult mortality emerged at the same time in urban as in rural areas. The analysis shows that the social class gradient in mortality was more pronounced in the urban than in the rural area, and hence that it was primarily an urban phenomenon. The urban mortality penalty in the study area lasted considerably longer than has been found for Sweden as a whole, but presumably with changing explanations over time. In the early twentieth century, the higher urban mortality was probably connected to poor living conditions in the city, while in the late twentieth century it was likely more related to differences in lifestyle and possibly work-related stress.