CHANGING LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE 1980S - WHY WAS DENMARK DIFFERENT FROM SWEDEN

Objective - To identify the contribution from specific causes of death to the changes in life expectancy at birth in Denmark relative to Swe den in different age groups during the 1980s and to compare the differ ence in life expectancy between the two countries in 1990. Design - Mo rtality data from WHO mortality tapes grouped in smaller series of cli nically meaningful categories were used to calculate the contribution of each of these categories at each 10 year age group to the differenc e in life expectancy at birth in each country between 1979 and 1990 an d between the two countries. Setting - Denmark and Sweden. Results - B etween 1979 and 1990 Life expectancy increased in both Denmark and Swe den. However, the increase in Sweden was more than two years while tha t In Denmark was less than one year. In both countries a decrease in c ardiovascular disease mortality contributed most to the increase in li fe expectancy in males as well as females, In both sexes the smaller i ncrease in life expectancy in Denmark was a result of differences in m ortality trends in cardiovascular diseases and respiratory and non-res piratory cancers, Conclusion - Over a short time two Nordic countries experienced remarkable bur different changes in mortality. These findi ngs suggest that mortality rates ape sensitive to even minor differenc es in social and cultural factors across countries and over short time periods.