Educational Gradient in Healthy Life Expectancies across Europe – the Role of Institutional Structures

Donata Stonkute , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Angelo Lorenti , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)

Health is heterogeneous across Europe, with a notable European East-West divide. It also varies between individuals. Among many determinants of health, education is consistently associated with better health within a population. Despite numerous studies on educational health disparities in Europe, Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have not been covered in a comparative power. Therefore, the depiction of health disparities in Europe remains incomplete. In this study, we measure educational inequalities in Disability-Free Life Expectancy (DFLE) across Europe, including CEE countries. We employ data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) where health status is measured by the Global Activity Limitation Indicator (GALI). Methodologically, we use discrete-time modelling and microsimulation to estimate multivariate life table quantities. These estimates are then used in the Sullivan method to obtain sex-specific DFLE at age 50 across education levels. We expect to find that CEE populations experience shorter DFLE and spend more years with limitations, while education has a positive relationship with DFLE. This study contributes to the research methodologically by combining the inclusion of covariates directly from the survey data and microsimulation in the estimation of life table quantities, necessary for the estimation of DFLE.

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 Presented in Session 20. Adding Healthy Life Years to Our Lives