Sex differences in mortality by ethnic background

Anna Oksuzyan, Max-Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Sven Drefahl, Stockholm University
Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen, Max-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging

In the Nordic countries the female survival advantage has been observed at least since the middle of the 18th century. The extent of the gender gap in mortality is varying substantially between countries. Denmark and Sweden are considered countries with a small gender gap in mortality. In this study we address whether the substantial differences in the gender gap that are observed between countries can also be observed for different immigrant groups. Previous research has indicated that migrants enjoy better health and lower mortality compared with the host population. Considering the healthy migrant effect and predominantly male migration from non-Western countries to Denmark and Sweden in 1960-70s, as well as high fertility in their female spouses, we expect to find even smaller sex differential mortality among migrants than in the ethnic Danish and Swedish populations. We use high-quality register data covering the whole Danish and Swedish population over several decades to address our research question.