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Human Longevity, Individual Life Duration, and the Growth of the Oldest-Old Population pp 271–295Cite as

Social Determinants of Mortality in the Oldest-Old: Social Class and Individual Way-of-Life

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Part of the book series: International Studies in Population ((ISIP,volume 4))

This paper discusses the role of social factors as determinants of longevity, with special focus on the oldest-old population. In ageing research, genetic and environmental—including social environment—factors are often presented as two separate, mutually independent sets of determinants. There is, however, constant interplay between genes and environment, between biological and social factors; and basically it is often impossible to distinguish between their specific impacts as determinants of longevity. Besides their “own” impact, environments, then, can be understood as contexts, or settings, for genetic influences. As far as humans are concerned, social and cultural characteristics of environments are of fundamental importance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Marja Jylhä

  2. Tampere University Hospital Research Unit, Tampere, Finland

    Tiina Luukkaala

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  1. Marja Jylhä
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Jean-Marie Robine

  2. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Eileen M. Crimmins

  3. Rockefeller University, New York, USA

    Shiro Horiuchi

  4. Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Zeng Yi

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Jylhä, M., Luukkaala, T. (2007). Social Determinants of Mortality in the Oldest-Old: Social Class and Individual Way-of-Life. In: Robine, JM., Crimmins, E.M., Horiuchi, S., Yi, Z. (eds) Human Longevity, Individual Life Duration, and the Growth of the Oldest-Old Population. International Studies in Population, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4848-7_13

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