Explaining the excess mortality in Scotland compared with England: pooling of 18 cohort studies

McCartney, G., Russ, T. C., Walsh, D. , Lewsey, J. , Smith, M., Smith, G. D., Stamatakis, E. and Batty, D. (2015) Explaining the excess mortality in Scotland compared with England: pooling of 18 cohort studies. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 69(1), pp. 20-27. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2014-204185) (PMID:25216666) (PMCID:PMC4283682)

Abstract

<b>Background</b> Mortality in Scotland is higher than in the rest of west and central Europe and is improving more slowly. Relative to England and Wales, the excess is only partially explained by area deprivation. We tested the extent to which sociodemographic, behavioural, anthropometric and biological factors explain the higher mortality in Scotland compared with England.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> Pooled data from 18 nationally representative cohort studies comprising the Health Surveys for England (HSE) and the Scottish Health Survey (SHS). Cox regression analysis was used to quantify the excess mortality risk in Scotland relative to England with adjustment for baseline characteristics.<p></p> <b>Results</b> A total of 193 873 participants with a mean of 9.6 years follow-up gave rise to 21 345 deaths. The age-adjusted and sex-adjusted all-cause mortality HR for Scottish respondents compared with English respondents was 1.40 (95% CI 1.34 to 1.47), which attenuated to 1.29 (95% CI 1.23 to 1.36) with the addition of the baseline socioeconomic and behavioural characteristics. Cause-specific mortality HRs attenuated only marginally to 1.43 (95% 1.28 to 1.60) for ischaemic heart disease, 1.37 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.63) for stroke, 1.41 (95% CI 1.30 to 1.53) for all cancers, 3.43 (95% CI 1.85 to 6.36) for illicit drug-related poisoning and 4.64 (95% CI 3.55 to 6.05) for alcohol-related mortality. The excess was greatest among young adults (16–44 years) and was observed across all occupational social classes with the greatest excess in the unskilled group.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Only a quarter of the excess mortality among Scottish respondents could be explained by the available baseline risk factors. Greater understanding is required on the lived experience of poverty, the role of social support, and the historical, environmental, cultural and political influences on health in Scotland.<p></p>

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Batty, Mr David and Smith, Dr Michael and Walsh, Dr David and Lewsey, Professor Jim
• Authors: McCartney, G., Russ, T. C., Walsh, D., Lewsey, J., Smith, M., Smith, G. D., Stamatakis, E., and Batty, D.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > General Practice and Primary Care; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
• Journal Name: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0143-005X
• ISSN (Online): 1470-2738
• Published Online: 10 December 2014
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2014 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License