IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0348587.html

Survival and life expectancy inequality by gender in Thai provinces: Trends from 2015 to 2023

Author

Listed:
  • Sergei Scherbov
  • Wiraporn Pothisiri
  • Orawan Prasitsiriphon
  • Dalkhat M Ediev
  • Warren Sanderson

Abstract

Background: Gender disparities in survival and life expectancy are indicative of broader health and socio-economic inequalities. This study examines temporal trends and subnational variations in gendered survival outcomes across Thailand’s 77 provinces between 2015 and 2023, emphasizing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental factors. For the first time, comprehensive provincial life tables have been produced for all Thai provinces for this period. Methods: Using civil registration data, life tables were constructed, from which life expectancy at birth (e0), at age 65 (e65), and survival probabilities between ages 20 and 65 were derived. Generalized additive models (GAM) with Poisson likelihood were employed to estimate mortality rates and analyze temporal trends and regional disparities. All analyses were conducted separately by sex. National-level estimates were computed as population-weighted aggregates of provincial estimates, from which life table indicators were derived consistently. Uncertainty intervals were estimated for key indicators. Results: From 2015 to 2023, the national gender gap in life expectancy at birth widened from 7.0 years to a peak of 7.7 years in 2021, primarily driven by increased male mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Provincial variations were substantial, with gender gaps ranging from 5.7 to 9.5 years. PM2.5 exposure measured in 2024 showed a moderate to strong negative correlation with life expectancy, highlighting significant environmental impacts. Conclusions: Persistent and geographically uneven gender disparities in life expectancy underscore the necessity for localized, gender-sensitive interventions targeting male mortality and environmental health risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Sergei Scherbov & Wiraporn Pothisiri & Orawan Prasitsiriphon & Dalkhat M Ediev & Warren Sanderson, 2026. "Survival and life expectancy inequality by gender in Thai provinces: Trends from 2015 to 2023," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 21(5), pages 1-1, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0348587
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0348587
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0348587
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0348587&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0348587?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew Noymer & Michel Garenne, 2000. "The 1918 Influenza Epidemic's Effects on Sex Differentials in Mortality in the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 26(3), pages 565-581, September.
    2. Sergei Scherbov & Dalkhat Ediev, 2011. "Significance of life table estimates for small populations: Simulation-based study of estimation errors," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 24(22), pages 527-550.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin Kolk & Sven Drefahl & Matthew Wallace & Gunnar Andersson, 2022. "Excess mortality and COVID-19 in Sweden in 2020: A demographic account," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 20(1), pages 317-348.
    2. Tom Wilson & Irina Grossman & Monica Alexander & Phil Rees & Jeromey Temple, 2022. "Methods for Small Area Population Forecasts: State-of-the-Art and Research Needs," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 865-898, June.
    3. Juan Manuel Pérez-Salamero González & Marta Regúlez-Castillo & Carlos Vidal-Meliá, 2021. "Differences in Life Expectancy Between Self-Employed Workers and Paid Employees when Retirement Pensioners: Evidence from Spanish Social Security Records," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(3), pages 697-725, July.
    4. Sawchuk, Larry A. & Tripp, Lianne & Samakaroon, Mahinda, 2022. "Assessing a syndemic: Gibraltar in the time of cholera," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    5. Clay, Karen & Lewis, Joshua & Severnini, Edson, 2019. "What explains cross-city variation in mortality during the 1918 influenza pandemic? Evidence from 438 U.S. cities," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 42-50.
    6. Dalkhat M. Ediev, 2018. "Constrained Mortality Extrapolation to Old Age: An Empirical Assessment," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(3), pages 441-457, August.
    7. Mamelund, Svenn-Erik, 2006. "A socially neutral disease? Individual social class, household wealth and mortality from Spanish influenza in two socially contrasting parishes in Kristiania 1918-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 923-940, February.
    8. Douglas Almond, 2006. "Is the 1918 Influenza Pandemic Over? Long-Term Effects of In Utero Influenza Exposure in the Post-1940 U.S. Population," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(4), pages 672-712, August.
    9. Colvin, Christopher L. & McLaughlin, Eoin, 2021. "Death, demography and the denominator: Age-adjusted Influenza-18 mortality in Ireland," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    10. Seaman, Rosie & Riffe, Tim & Leyland, Alastair H. & Popham, Frank & van Raalte, Alyson, 2019. "The increasing lifespan variation gradient by area-level deprivation: A decomposition analysis of Scotland 1981–2011," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 147-157.
    11. Goldin, Claudia & Lleras-Muney, Adriana, 2019. "XX > XY?: The changing female advantage in life expectancy," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Wang, Huiqiang, 2016. "Estimating the health impacts of food safety interventions: Optimal counterfactual selections via information criteria in small samples," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 44-52.
    13. Mukhopadhyay, Sankar, 2026. "Long-term consequences of early-life exposure to Famine: Evidence from the 1943 Bengal Famine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 392(C).
    14. Sergi Basco & Jordi Domènech & Joan R. Rosés, 2022. "Unequal Mortality During the Spanish Flu," Palgrave Studies in Economic History, in: Pandemics, Economics and Inequality, chapter 0, pages 33-50, Palgrave Macmillan.
    15. Brian Beach & Karen Clay & Martin Saavedra, 2022. "The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Its Lessons for COVID-19," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(1), pages 41-84, March.
    16. Georgia Verropoulou & Cleon Tsimbos, 2017. "Estimating Mortality Levels and Patterns among Natives, Immigrants, and Selected Ethnic Groups in Greece: 2010–2012," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 600-631, September.
    17. Agnieszka Orwat-Acedańska, 2024. "Accuracy of small area mortality prediction methods: evidence from Poland," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 1-20, March.
    18. repec:ehl:lserod:108853 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Lin, Ming-Jen & Liu, Elaine M., 2014. "Does in utero exposure to Illness matter? The 1918 influenza epidemic in Taiwan as a natural experiment," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 152-163.
    20. Akushevich, I. & Yashkin, A. & Kovtun, M. & Stallard, E. & Yashin, A.I. & Kravchenko, J., 2023. "Decomposition of disparities in life expectancy with applications to administrative health claims and registry data," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 50-68.
    21. Ferrie, Joseph P. & Troesken, Werner, 2008. "Water and Chicago's mortality transition, 1850-1925," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 1-16, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0348587. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.