The effects of migration on the relationship between area socioeconomic structure and mortality

We studied whether migration influences the relationship between area socioeconomic structure and mortality. We used data on Finns aged 25-64 that are linked to information on proportions of manual workers in 85 functional regions in 1987 and 1997, and on deaths in 1998-2004. Participants aged 25-44 moving to areas with a lower proportion of manual workers had lower mortality and those moving to areas with a higher proportion of manual workers had mortality similar to those residing in these areas at both time points. Among the 45-64-year-olds, all migrants between areas had increased mortality. However, because these mortality differences and the migratory flows were relatively small, their effects on area socioeconomic differences in mortality were also small. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.