Socioeconomic and educational inequities as independent predictors for mortality in a developing country. A cohort study in San Francisco, Chile Desigualdad educacional y socioeconómica como determinante de mortalidad en Chile: Análisis de sobrevida en la

Abstract

Background: The socioeconomic position (SEP) and educational level of individuals have an inverse correlation with mortality in developed societies. Aim: To assess in a society undergoing a socioeconomic transition, the mortality risk associated to a low SEP (combination of education and income, scale 0-25 points, reference > 10 points) and low education (education years, reference > 8 years), adjusting for other known risk factors. Material and methods: In this prospective cohort study, a random sample of 920 subjects, living in San Francisco de Mostazal, Chile, aged more than 20years (395 males) was examined for the first time in 1997-1999 and reexamined in 2005-2006. All had information about economic household income and level of education. A Cox regression model was used to evaluate the association between mortality and socioeconomic measures. Results: The crude mortality hazard ratio (HR) was 3.34 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.88-3.87) and 6.05 (95% CI 5.04-7.26) for low SEP an