The aftershock of deindustrialization--trends in mortality in Scotland and other parts of post-industrial Europe
Open Access
- 15 June 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in European Journal of Public Health
- Vol. 20 (1), 58-64
- https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckp063
Abstract
Background: Post-industrial decline is frequently cited as one of the major underlying reasons behind the poor health profile of Scotland and, especially, West Central Scotland (WCS). This begs the question: to what extent is poor health a common outcome in other post-industrial regions and how does Scotland's experience compare to these other comparable regions? Methods: Regions were identified by means of an expert-based consultation, backed up by analysis of regional industrial employment loss over the past 30 years. Mortality rates and related statistics were calculated from data obtained from national and regional statistical agencies. Results: Twenty candidate regions (in: Belgium; France; Germany; Netherlands; UK; Poland; Czech Republic) were identified, of which ten were selected for in-depth analyses. WCS mortality rates are generally higher and—crucially—appear to be improving at a slower rate than in the other post-industrial regions. This relatively poor rate of improvement is largely driven by mortality among the younger working age (especially male) and middle-aged female populations. Conclusion: WCS mortality trends compare badly with other, similar, post-industrial regions of Europe, including regions in Eastern Europe which tend to be characterized by higher levels of poverty. This finding challenges any simplistic explanation of WCS's poor health being caused by post-industrial decline alone, and begs the question as to what other factors may be at work.Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- Liver cirrhosis mortality rates in Britain from 1950 to 2002: an analysis of routine dataThe Lancet, 2006
- Living inferiorityBritish Medical Bulletin, 2004
- Do attitude and area influence health?Health & Place, 2000
- Excess mortality of unemployed men and women during a period of rapidly increasing unemploymentThe Lancet, 1996
- Unemployment and ill health: understanding the relationship.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1994
- Loss of employment and mortalityBMJ, 1994
- Deprivation: explaining differences in mortality between Scotland and England and Wales.BMJ, 1989