Social Inequalities in Road Traffic Deaths at Age 16–20 Years among all 611 654 Norwegians Born between 1967 and 1976: A Multilevel Analysis

Although previous studies have found socioeconomic inequalities in motor vehicle accident-related injury and fatality rates, the relative contribution of area disadvantage and individual socioeconomic position (SEP) remains unclear. This study seeks to estimate mortality differences in family socioeconomic position and municipal disadvantage level. Data on all Norwegians born in 1967–76 (n=611,654) was collected from national registries and linked by a unique national identification number. The participants were followed for 5 years from the age of 16. Parental education level, father's income level, and proportion of high-income earners in the municipality served as SEP indicators. Multilevel Poisson regression analysis was used to determine associations between SEP and road traffic deaths. The results showed that road traffic fatalities (n=676, rate 22.2 per 100,000 person-years) constituted a major cause of death for this group. SEP distributions differed according to gender and type of motor vehicle crash. There was an inverse relationship between municipal proportions of high-income earners and mortality in all categories of gender-specific crash types. Family SEP gradients were not found except for male non-collision deaths, where increasing mortality was found in association with decreasing parental education level. These findings indicate that heterogeneity of social inequalities in health can be found even within narrow age bands and for similar causes of death. Although community-based interventions could help reduce social inequalities in road traffic deaths, they should be supplemented with actions targeted at the high-risk male group.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1136/ip.2011.031682
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13538047
• Authors:
  • Kristensen, Petter
  • Kristiansen, Thomas
  • Rehn, Marius
  • Gravseth, Hans Magne
  • Bjerkedal, Tor
• Publication Date: 2012-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 3-9
• Serial:
  • Injury Prevention
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
  • ISSN: 1353-8047
  • EISSN: 1475-5785
  • Serial URL: http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash types; Fatalities; Gender; Regression analysis; Socioeconomic areas; Socioeconomic factors; Traffic crash victims; Traffic crashes
• Geographic Terms: Norway
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01365392
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 20 2012 12:16PM