Journal article
Seasonal patterns of mortality in relation to social factors
S Hales, T Blakely, RH Foster, MG Baker, P Howden-Chapman
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health | BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP | Published : 2012
Abstract
Background: New Zealand is a temperate country with substantial excess winter mortality. We investigated whether this excess winter mortality varies with social factors. Methods: Records from New Zealand censuses in 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001 were each anonymously and probabilistically linked to 3 years of subsequent mortality data creating five cohort studies of the New Zealand adult population (age 30-74 years at census) each with 3 years' follow-up. Logistic regression analysis was used to model the risk of dying in winter compared to summer with winter deaths classified '1' and summer deaths '0'. There were 75 138 eligible mortality records with complete data on social variables rec..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The study was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Health and the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand. The New Zealand Census-Mortality Study is conducted in collaboration with Statistics New Zealand and within the confines of the Statistics Act 1975. The authors take full responsibility for the paper and Statistics New Zealand will not be held accountable for any error or inaccurate findings. The New Zealand Census-Mortality Study was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and receives continuing funding from the Ministry of Health.