German reunification in the European context: life expectancy in Central and Eastern Europe since 1990

Purpose A life expectancy gap exists between the east and west of the European Union (EU), which has emerged during the Cold War. Few eastern countries have so far managed to bridge this health gap. One example of success is former East Germany, where the difference in life expectancy with West Germany rapidly reduced in the decade since German reunification. Did the eight Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries that joined the European Union in 2004 experience a trend in life expectancy similar to that of East Germany? Methods The difference between period life expectancy (PLE) of each CEE country and the PL…