Absolute and Relative Socioeconomic Health Inequalities across Age Groups

The magnitude of socioeconomic health inequalities differs across age groups. It is less clear whether socioeconomic health inequalities differ across age groups by other factors that are known to affect the relation between socioeconomic position and health, like the indicator of socioeconomic posi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-12, Vol.10 (12), p.e0145947-e0145947
Main Authors: van Zon, Sander K R, Bültmann, Ute, Mendes de Leon, Carlos F, Reijneveld, Sijmen A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Age Factors
Age groups
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Analysis
Child development
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Education
Epidemiology
Female
Gender equality
Health aspects
Health disparities
Health sciences
Health Status Disparities
Health Surveys
Humans
Income
Indicators
Inequalities
Low income groups
Male
Mental disorders
Mental health
Middle Aged
Mortality
Netherlands
Personal income
Population
Position indicators
Position measurement
Public health
Risk Factors
Sampling methods
SEP
Socio-economic aspects
Socioeconomic Factors
Socioeconomics
Young Adult
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Summary:The magnitude of socioeconomic health inequalities differs across age groups. It is less clear whether socioeconomic health inequalities differ across age groups by other factors that are known to affect the relation between socioeconomic position and health, like the indicator of socioeconomic position, the health outcome, gender, and as to whether socioeconomic health inequalities are measured in absolute or in relative terms. The aim is to investigate whether absolute and relative socioeconomic health inequalities differ across age groups by indicator of socioeconomic position, health outcome and gender. The study sample was derived from the baseline measurement of the LifeLines Cohort Study and consisted of 95,432 participants. Socioeconomic position was measured as educational level and household income. Physical and mental health were measured with the RAND-36. Age concerned eleven 5-years age groups. Absolute inequalities were examined by comparing means. Relative inequalities were examined by comparing Gini-coefficients. Analyses were performed for both health outcomes by both educational level and household income. Analyses were performed for all age groups, and stratified by gender. Absolute and relative socioeconomic health inequalities differed across age groups by indicator of socioeconomic position, health outcome, and gender. Absolute inequalities were most pronounced for mental health by household income. They were larger in younger than older age groups. Relative inequalities were most pronounced for physical health by educational level. Gini-coefficients were largest in young age groups and smallest in older age groups. Absolute and relative socioeconomic health inequalities differed cross-sectionally across age groups by indicator of socioeconomic position, health outcome and gender. Researchers should critically consider the implications of choosing a specific age group, in addition to the indicator of socioeconomic position and health outcome, as findings on socioeconomic health inequalities may differ between them.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0145947