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Background. Available data on socio-economic inequality in mortality are not adequate to have a comprehensive picture of the phenomenon in Italy. Aim. To quantify socioeconomic inequality in mortality through a longitudinal census-linked national study. Methods. In this preliminary report, 2012 mortality data were linked to the 2011 census, using the tax code as matching key. Life expectancy according to level of education was estimated by life table technique. Pollard decomposition method was used to quantify the contribution of age and different causes of death to the difference in life expectancy among educational levels. Results. The estimated differences in life expectancy at age 25 between subjects in the highest level of education (university) compared to those in the lowest level (no education or primary school) were: 5.2 years for men and 2.7 years for women. Cancer (33%), cardiovascular diseases (26%) and external causes (8%) were the major contributors to the educational difference in life expectancy in men. In women, cardiovascular diseases (43%), cancers (16%) and diabetes (9%) contributed most to the difference. Conclusions. Education considerably affects mortality in Italy. The greater mortality from chronic conditions in middle age explains most of the disadvantage in life expectancy in lower educated people.

life expectancy; education; census; causes of deaths; inequalities