Life expectancy in the province of Halland, Sweden, 1911-50: the progress of public health in a long-living population.

Background: Life expectancy in Sweden is currently one of the longest in the world. The population of Halland has the longest life expectancy in Sweden.

Aim: Life expectancy in the province of Halland and Sweden as a whole during 1911-50 was studied and the findings are discussed in the light of local historical data.

Method: A trend analysis of risk ratio of death and life expectancy for Halland and Sweden was done for the period 1911-50 with regard to calendar year, age, and sex using a Poisson model.

Results: The risk ratio between Halland and Sweden was 0.83 for 1911 and 0.76 for 1950. The risk ratio of death for women was lower compared with men and this difference increased over time. At the start of the study period life expectancy for men and women was higher in Halland (58.5 and 60.1 years, respectively) compared with Sweden (54.7 and 56.4 years, respectively) with a difference of approximately 3.8 years. At the end of the study period this difference in life expectancy for men and women in Halland (71.3 and 72.3 years, respectively) and the nation (68.0 and 69.2 years, respectively) had decreased to approximately 3.3 years.

Conclusion: The long life expectancy seen in Halland today can be traced back to the early twentieth century. The starting point for this development seems to be a lower infant mortality in Halland compared with Sweden as a nation during the 1880-90. The basis for this might have been a greater increase of food production during the whole nineteenth century as well as other socioeconomic characteristics of Halland compared with the rest of the country.