The role of inherited factors for longevity: southern Sweden 1813-2009

Tommy Bengtsson, Lund University
Göran R. Broström, Umeå University

We estimate a model of overall mortality among married persons aged 50 years and above taking genetic as well as socioeconomic and environmental factors in succeeding generations into account. We consider whether these factors have direct or indirect effects on health. The demographic and economic individual level data come from the Scania Economic Demographic Database linked with central register data after 1968. To these, local grain prices, as an indicator of food costs, and the local infant mortality rate, as an indicator of the disease load, have been added. Preliminary, we find that age of death of the mother and the father have persistent impacts on their adult children’s overall mortality regardless of sex, even after controlling for socioeconomic and environmental factors over the life course. In addition, we find strong birth cohort effects and effects of the disease load in the first year of life.