The intergenerational transmission of lifespan and longevity: Evidence from the Swedish censuses 1880-1950
In this paper, led by Isa Barraclough, we study the intergenerational correlation in lifespan between parents (mothers, fathers) and children (sons, daughters) and how this correlation changes over time. Using rank-rank-correlations, the paper demonstrates that there is no large change in how similar parents and children are in their lifespan over time. There is a small but consistent intergenerational correlation, much less substantial than for example correlations in income.
Social inequalities in stature. The case of Sweden 1967-2020.
In this paper, together with Martin Dribe, we demonstrate the social gradient in stature over time in Sweden has not disappeared. Compared to other countries, the social difference in stature is similarly in size. It exists for both men and women. A substantial part of the social gradient in stature is explained by father’s stature, that is, it exists already in the previous generation. Maternal tobacco use explains part of the social gap in stature.
The impact of reproduction on women’s later life health. Sweden 1935-2015.
In this paper, led by Luciana Quaranta, we show that there is a relation between women’s reproduction and their later life survival. Women’s parity – their number of children – has been studied previously in the literature, with mixed results, sometimes showing lower and sometimes higher mortality in later life. In this paper, we study the reproductive career in more detail. In particular, complications at birth – births at a low birthweight and premature births – are related to higher mortality in later life. The paper uses newly digitized historical obstetric records from hospitals in Landskrona.
An age-old advantage: Evidence for a consistent survival advantage for children of long-lived parents in Sweden 1880-2015. Pre-print
Inequalities in lifespan cluster in families: in some families, living to high ages can almost be counted on (van den Berg et al., 2023); in other families, premature mortality is common. Establishing the degree of intergenerational persistence of survival in families provides a tool to show overall survival inequalities that goes beyond quantifying inequalities related to socioeconomic status (SES) alone. Despite its potential role in demonstrating developments in broad inequalities in health and survival, between-family inequalities in lifespan over time have poorly been quantified. Using contemporary Swedish national register data covering the period 1967-today linked to historical population data for a region in Southern Sweden (SEDD), we show that even before the rise of the modern social gradient in health, descendants from long-lived ancestors (top survivors of their birth cohort) have a survival advantage in comparison to the population. Overall, we find that mortality concentrates in families in patterns that go beyond the influence of just socioeconomic status. It does so across the demographic transition so that both in populations with much higher mortality than today and in contemporary populations there is a strong family component to survival, even after taking socioeconomic factors into account. Families thus provide an important lens into the larger socioeconomic inequalities in survival and health.