Mortality, severe disability and long-term care in Germany: recent trends, differences and determinants

Abstract

Using individual-and population level data, this doctoral thesis provides an analysis of the trends in mortality, disability, and long-term care needs in Germany, focusing on the role of individual's socioeconomic status. The results indicate an expansion in care needs for all socioeconomic groups, but once older people become in need of care, other factors than socioeconomic status start operating. The results show that regional mortality differences are strongly linked to the higher share of men with disabilities in the East rather than to mortality differences among men with disabilities.