Ben-Shlomo Y, White IR, Marmot M. Does the variation in the socioeconomic characteristics of an area affect mortality? British Medical Journal 1996; 312: 1013-4

This regional study looked at all the wards in England aggregated into local authorities. It found a strong association between the degree of inequality of the wards within the local authority and the mortality rates of those under age 65. This finding suggests that premature mortality in a local authority (dying before reaching the age of 65) is related to the degree of social socioeconomic variation among wards in that local authority. The measuring of inequality in the local authority was the Townsend Index, which is computed from the economic active resident who are unemployed, and households lacking a car, living in rented quarters with more than one person per room. While not strictly speaking a measure of income distribution, it clearly reflects relative deprivation.  

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Keywords

• education
• health inequalities
• inequality
• mortality
• regional
• social cohesion
• socioeconomic status