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Correction
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Mackenbach et al.,
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We have discovered an error in the mortality data from England; this error is related to an ambiguity in the labels of educational categories. An alternative interpretation of the labels of educational categories in the mortality data for England and Wales reduces the number of persons with education unknown and therefore increases both the number of person-years and the number of deaths available for analysis. The resulting changes show that we underestimated inequalities in mortality in England and Wales, but none of the conclusions of our article are substantially affected. The changed results for England and Wales also slightly affect the totals for Europe. In the Results section of the text (page 2472), the fourth sentence, "For example, in Sweden and in England and Wales, the relative index of inequality for men is less than 2, indicating that mortality among those with the least education is less than twice that among those with the most education; on the other hand, in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, the relative index of inequality for men is 4 or higher, indicating that mortality differs by a factor of more than 4 between the lower and upper ends of the education scale," should have read, "For example, in Sweden, the relative index of inequality for men is less than 2, indicating that mortality among those with the least education is less than twice that among those with the most education; on the other hand, in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, the relative index of inequality for men is 4 or higher, indicating that mortality differs by a factor of more than 4 between the lower and upper ends of the education scale."
In the Results section of the text (page 2472), the 10th sentence, "Inequalities in the rate of death from cardiovascular disease account for 33% of education-related inequalities in the rate of death from any cause among men (442 of 1328 deaths per 100,000 person-years) and 50% of those among women (246 of 489 deaths per 100,000 person-years)," should have read, "Inequalities in the rate of death from cardiovascular disease account for 34% of education-related inequalities in the rate of death from any cause among men (451 of 1333 deaths per 100,000 person-years) and 51% of those among women (251 of 492 deaths per 100,000 person-years)."
In the Results section of the text (page 2473), the third full sentence, "For example, among men in the Basque country, where the education-related inequality in the rate of death from any cause is below the European average, death from cardiovascular disease accounts for 45% of this difference (i.e., [442–16 deaths per 100,000 person-years]÷[1328–384 deaths per 100,000 person-years])," should have read, "For example, among men in the Basque country, where the education-related inequality in the rate of death from any cause is below the European average, death from cardiovascular disease accounts for 46% of this difference (i.e., [451–16 deaths per 100,000 person-years]÷[1333–384 deaths per 100,000 person-years])."
In the Results section of the text (page 2473), the fifth full sentence, "In Europe as a whole, inequalities in mortality from smoking-related conditions account for 21% of the inequalities in the rate of death from any cause among men and 6% of those among women (Table 2)," should have read, "In Europe as a whole, inequalities in mortality from smoking-related conditions account for 22% of the inequalities in the rate of death from any cause among men and 6% of those among women (Table 2)."
In Table 1 (page 2470), the fifth and sixth columns for the fifth row (United Kingdom) should have been 2,295,029 and 21,234 rather than 445,568 and 3,867.
In Table 1 (page 2471), the fifth and sixth columns for the last row (Europe) should have been 303,540,302 and 3,462,053 rather than 301,690,841 and 3,444,686.
In Table 2 (page 2474), the first through third, fifth through ninth, and 11th through 12th columns for the fifth row (United Kingdom [England and Wales]) should have been 1124, 862, 225; 141, 401, 284, 67, 19; 28, 241 rather than 1005, 529, 184; 92, 189, 132, 6, 9; 39, 154. The first through third, fifth through eighth, and 11th through 12th columns for the last row on the page (Europe total) should have been 1635, 1333, 328; 153, 451, 233, 131; 141, 288 rather than 1615, 1328, 326; 152, 442, 229, 127; 142, 285. In Table 2 (page 2475), the first through 12th columns for the fifth row (United Kingdom [England and Wales]) should have been 672, 462, 111, –22, 59, 236, 154, 31, 1, 96, 7, 103 rather than 593, 315, 42, –8, 50, 115, 66, 85, –9, 146, 20, 98. The first through eighth and the 10th column for the last row (Europe total) should have been 778, 492, 55, –9, 10, 251, 120, 85; 172 rather than 766, 489, 54, –8, 8, 246, 117, 86; 173. The corrected data show a higher average rate of death from any cause for England and Wales and higher slope indexes of inequality both for death from any cause and for specific causes of death. As a result, the totals for Europe as a whole also increase slightly.
In Figure 1A (page 2473), the bar for England and Wales should have been just above 2 rather than just below 2. In Figure 1B, the bar for England and Wales should have been just above 2 rather than just below 2. The corrected data show a higher relative index of inequality in England and Wales for both men and women.
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