According to JAMA, in some recent research published on the life expectancies of the Norwegians between 2005 and 2015, there has been some interesting or intriguing general findings in the decades-long study on life expectancy amongst the general population in accordance with a slice of the economic and social strata of the society.
If an individual is amongst the more wealthy in the country, even in a “largely tax-financed universal health care system and moderate income differences” nation-state, we can see the question asked, “does life expectancy vary with income, and are differences comparable to differences in the United States?”
It becomes an important question too. If we look at some of the issues surrounding the context of Norway, the country should seem healthy and functional in regards to income inequality.
By many metrics, this country appears to be reported as a healthy society on the levels of income inequality within the society and on the provision of a functional healthcare system to its citizenry.
One of the issues seen here is the way in which income differences or social strata differentials can lead to alterations in the life outcomes of individuals within society.
3,041,828 persons at age 40 were studied for the ten year period.
As reported, “…the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest 1% was 8.4 years for women and 13.8 years for men. The differences widened between 2005 and 2015 and were comparable to those in the United States… Inequalities in life expectancy by income in Norway were substantial and increased between 2005 and 2015.”
This may have an application to other advanced industrial economies and Western, socially and culturally speaking, societies.
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