Adult mortality in developed countries
Subtitle: from description to explanation
By: edited by Alan D. Lopez, Graziella Caselli, and Tapani Valkonen.
Contributors: Lopez, Alan D.; Caselli, Graziella.; Valkonen, Tapani, 1941-
Series: International studies in demography
Publisher: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 361
Subjects: Mortality -- Developed countries -- Case studies.
Description: With sharp declines in infant and child mortality during the twentieth century, virtually all deaths in developed countries now occur among adults. Demographers have long been aware, however, of the great diversity of adult mortality experience within and among countries, due to a host of interactions between societal, environmental, biological and behavioural variables, the mechanisms of which, for the most part, remain elusive.

The challenge for demographers, taken up by this book, is to move away from description towards explanation. The first section is concerned with the more theoretical aspects of conceptual models and frameworks for the analysis of adult mortality. The second section deals with the diversity of mortality patterns and trends among industrialized countries, searching for explanations in the context of the conceptual models proposed earlier.

This is followed by a series of chapters which focus on the causes and extent of differentials in adult mortality, paying particular attention to sex, region of residence, and socio-economic status. The final section of the book draws heavily on the North American experience to consider some of the policy and programme implications necessary to reduce preventable adult mortality levels further - including government policies to control smoking and alcohol abuse, and to promote healthful behaviour patterns.

It also indicates areas of future research.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.