The Best Predictors of Survival: Do They Vary by Age, Sex, and Race?

Abstract

Myriad factors in a large number of studies have been linked to human survival, encompassing influences such as the social environment as well as proximate determinants such as health conditions and biological markers. For example, an extensive literature explores Link and Phelan’s premise that social conditions are “fundamental causes” of disease that involve access to the necessary resources to both prevent and treat illness (Link and Phelan 1995). A long history of research demonstrates that a large number of such factors, including education, income, and social networks, are significantly associated with subsequent mortality (see, for example, Elo 2009).