Abstract Social class has been widely observed to bear on risk of disease and death. The mortality of Australian males aged 15–64 for the two peri‐censal periods 1970–72 and 1975–77 combined has been analysed for social class, using the Congalton 4‐point occupational prestige scale of social class. For all‐causes mortality and for each of the nine major cause‐of‐death groupings, excepting endocrine disorders, age‐standardised death rates were higher in the lower social classes. This inverse gradient was strongest for deaths from respiratory diseases, digestive diseases, mental disorders, and accidents. Of ten specific causes of death examined, cancers of the stomach and lung exhibited strong inverse gradients with social class, as did chronic respiratory disease and motor vehicle accidents. Mortality from stroke and ischaemic heart disease was weakly, inversely, associated with social class. By contrast, mortality from cancers of the colon and brain was highest in the higher social classes. Death rates from pancreatic cancer and diabetes mellitus were not obviously related to social class. The overall consistency of the inverse gradient between social class and mortality, both in Australia and overseas, suggests that both specific and more general social influences are operating.
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