Minor gradient in mortality by education at the highest ages: An application of the Extinct-Cohort method

Abstract

BACKGROUND Socioeconomic mortality differentials are known to exist almost universally. Many studies show a trend towards convergence with increasing age. Information about the highest ages is very rare, though. OBJECTIVE We want to find out whether socioeconomic factors determine the chance of death in the United States among the oldest people. METHODS Based on official death count records, we employ the extinct cohort method to estimate the age-specific probability of dying by level of education. RESULTS We present evidence that socioeconomic differentials in mortality exist even at the highest ages (95+), although the gap is small. COMMENTS To our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to analyze socioeconomic mortality differentials at ages 95 and higher. We present, furthermore, a novel field of application for the extinct cohort method.

Keywords

• extinct cohort
• oldest old mortality
• socioeconomic mortality differentials