New research directions on socio-economic differential mortality in the United States of America.

The rapid 36% decrease in US death rates from heart disease since 1950 has caused an upsurge of interest in socioeconomic mortality differentials. Life style factors have probably played a major role in this decline. This report provides an overview of US socioeconomic martality differentials including data from 1) the US national longitudinal study of mortality differentials 2) death certificate data 3) the national mortality followback survey 4) administrative records studies and 5) indirect estimation methods. Both income and education separately affect the life chances of males and females for both whites and non-whites. For example a white male at age 25 with 12 or more years of education could expect to live 2 years longer than a white male with less than a high school education. Infant mortality is also associated with socioeconomic status. One study showed that the association between income education and occupation varies by cause of death. Income continues to have a large significant effect on mortality even when disability is taken into account. The recently instituted National Death Index (NDI) a centralized computerized index a death record information will make it easier to match death data with other data bases containing socioeconomic data. This matching process is what makes studies of socioecomomic mortality differentials difficult and expensive. The US national longitudinal (prospective) study of diffenential mortality will link the NDI with Current Population Survey data thus creating a sample of almost 1 million people. US "followback" surveys return to the next of kin named on a death certificate to ask questions; these surveys create a much more focused and economical data base than prospective studies. The administrative records of the Social Security system for example form a useful data base for demographic research. Indirect estimation methods have been used to estimate socioeconomic differentials in child mortality. The NDI may allow continuous tracking of US socioeconomic mortality differentials.