Octavio Bramajo

Project description

Despite Denmark's remarkable gains in life expectancy, recent evidence suggests that younger generations are not sharing equally in this progress. Cohorts born between 1980 and 2010 show distinct adverse health patterns across Denmark (and other countries of the Nordic region), including stagnant or rising suicide rates among young women, substance-related deaths, and growing mental health burdens. This project investigates these trends through a generational lens. First, it maps cohort-specific patterns in mortality, hospitalizations, prescription use and other outcomes (fertility, socioeconomical position) to identify whether deaths are preceded by detectable warning signs. Second, it examines the behavioral, psychological, and socioeconomic determinants driving these outcomes, using Danish register-based data and integrating tools from epidemiology, sociology, psychology, and health economics. The aim is to translate demographic observation into prevention strategies tailored to the affected generations and life-course stages where intervention is most effective.  

Short Bio

I hold a BA in Sociology (Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina), a Masters in Social Demography (Universidad Nacional de Luján, Argentina) and a Doctorate in Demography (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain), followed by postdoctoral positions at the Sealy Center on Aging (University of Texas Medical Branch, U.S.) and the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine (University of Zurich, Switzerland). I am a population health researcher specializing in mortality and health disparities, using mathematical and statistical methods in social science. My work examines how social determinants and birth-cohort dynamics shape health trajectories across populations.