Education Gradients in Mortality Trends by Gender and Race

We examine gender and race differences in education-mortality trends among 25–64-year-olds in the United States from 2001 to 2018. Relationships are heterogeneous by race and education, with larger mortality reductions for less educated non-Hispanic Blacks than for other races and mixed results at higher levels of schooling. Drug overdoses represent the single most important contributor to increased death rates for all groups, but the magnitudes vary sharply. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, and HIV are the most significant sources of mortality rate reductions, with heterogeneous patterns again by sex, race, and educational attainment. Examining specific causes of death can provide a more nuanced understanding of the health shocks affecting population subgroups.