Trends in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Motor Vehicle Accident Deaths in the United States, 1995–2010
Open Access
- 8 September 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in American Journal of Epidemiology
- Vol. 182 (7), 606-614
- https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwv099
Abstract
Motor vehicle accident (MVA) mortality has been declining overall, but little is known about trends by socioeconomic position. We examined trends in education-related inequalities in US MVA death rates from 1995 to 2010. We used mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics and population estimates from the Current Population Survey, and we calculated vehicle- and person-miles traveled using data from the National Household Travel Survey. We used negative binomial regression to estimate crude and age-, sex-, and race-adjusted mortality rates among adults aged 25 years or more. We found larger mortality decreases among the more highly educated and some evidence of mortality increases among the least educated. Adjusted death rates were 15.3 per 100,000 population (95% confidence interval (CI): 10.7, 19.9) higher at the bottom of the education distribution than at the top of the education distribution in 1995, increasing to 17.9 per 100,000 population (95% CI: 14.8, 21.0) by 2010. In relative terms, adjusted death rates were 2.4 (95% CI: 1.7, 3.0) times higher at the bottom of the education distribution than at the top in 1995, increasing to 4.3 times higher (95% CI: 3.4, 5.3) by 2010. Inequality increases were larger in terms of vehicle-miles traveled. Although overall MVA death rates declined during this period, socioeconomic differences in MVA mortality have persisted or worsened over time.Keywords
Funding Information
- Canadian Institutes for Health Research
- Fonds de Recherche du Québec–Santé
- Fonds de la Recherche du Québec–Santé
- Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- An Analysis of U.S. Road Fatalities per Population: Changes by Age From 1958 to 2008Traffic Injury Prevention, 2011
- Poverty as a determinant of young drivers' fatal crash risksJournal of Safety Research, 2009
- Socioeconomic status and risk of car crash injury, independent of place of residence and driving exposure: results from the DRIVE StudyJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2009
- The Relationship Between Regional Economic Conditions and the Severity of Traffic CrashesTraffic Injury Prevention, 2009
- The Effects of Mandatory Seat Belt Laws on Driving Behavior and Traffic FatalitiesThe Review of Economics and Statistics, 2003
- Race, Hispanic origin, and socioeconomic status in relation to motor vehicle occupant death rates and risk factors among adultsAccident Analysis & Prevention, 2002
- Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to increase the use of safety beltsAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2001
- Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired drivingAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2001
- Socioeconomic status and injury mortality: individual and neighbourhood determinantsJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2000
- Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Cause-Specific MortalityAnnals of Epidemiology, 2000