Parity-Specific Fertility and Post-Reproductive Premature Mortality: A Comparison of the German Democratic Republic and Sweden

Kieron Barclay, Stockholm University
Mara Barschkett, DIW Berlin and FU Berlin
Sebastian Kluesener , Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

Most population-level evidence on the link between the reproductive history of women and their post-reproductive mortality is based on high-income countries with population registers. Here we enhance the existing population-level evidence by analysing data that was collected as part of the population register of the Communist German Democratic Republic (GDR). A comparison with Sweden will allow us to explore whether the link between fertility outcomes and post-reproductive mortality differs dependent on the political and economic context. First findings for the East German GDR show that mortality differences by number of children born are more attenuated than in other countries. This seems to be mostly driven by deaths due to neoplasm and external causes. For cardiovascular diseases and other causes, however, we identify a typical j-shaped pattern where women with two children are displaying the lowest mortality. Over the next months, we will specify a similar model for Sweden, allowing us to present at the EPC a direct comparison between East Germany and Sweden.

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 Presented in Session 65. Flash session Mortality and Longevity