Ages and causes of death contributing to widening educational inequalities in mortality in the US

Jesus-Daniel Zazueta-Borboa , University of Oxford
Wen Su, University of Oxford
Andrea Tilstra, University of Oxford
Sai Campbell, University of Oxford
Jennifer Dowd, University of Oxford

Educational inequalities in life expectancy in the US have increased, but less is known about why. Using data from US National Vital Statistics System, the American Community Survey, and the Human Mortality Database, we assessed the contributions of specific ages and causes of death to changes in educational inequalities in life expectancy at age 25 (e25) from 2000 to 2023. After 2010, there was an increasing contribution of mortality under age 50 to widening inequalities, especially for those with less or equal than high-school education compared ot those with Bachelor’s (BA). For those with some college education compared to a BA, the contributions of mortality over age 50 from cardiovascular disease were more pronounced. Educational inequalities in life expectancy grew from 2020-2022 due to differential COVID-19 mortality, but narrowed again in 2023 as pandemic mortality subsided. We find suggestive evidence that younger cohorts contribute more to widening educational inequalities.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 38. Flash Session Social Inequalities in Mortality