Socioeconomic hierarchy and health gradient in Europe: the role of income inequality and of social origins

International Journal for Equity in Health

Anja K. Leist¹  Louis Chauvel¹ 

[1] University of Luxembourg, PEARL Institute for Research on Socio-Economic Inequality, Campus Belval, 11, Porte des Sciences, Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4366, Luxembourg

关键词: Health inequity;    Comparative research;    Social origins;    Multilevel models;    Health inequalities;   

Others  :  1233716
DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-015-0263-y

 received in 2015-06-30, accepted in 2015-11-01,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Health inequalities reflect multidimensional inequality (income, education, and other indicators of socioeconomic position) and vary across countries and welfare regimes. To which extent there is intergenerational transmission of health via parental socioeconomic status has rarely been investigated in comparative perspective. The study sought to explore if different measures of stratification produce the same health gradient and to which extent health gradients of income and of social origins vary with level of living and income inequality.

Methods

A total of 299,770 observations were available from 18 countries assessed in EU-SILC 2005 and 2011 data, which contain information on social origins. Income inequality (Gini) and level of living were calculated from EU-SILC. Logit rank transformation provided normalized inequalities and distributions of income and social origins up to the extremes of the distribution and was used to investigate net comparable health gradients in detail. Multilevel random-slope models were run to post-estimate best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) and related standard deviations of residual intercepts (median health) and slopes (income-health gradients) per country and survey year.

Results

Health gradients varied across different measures of stratification, with origins and income producing significant slopes after controls. Income inequality was associated with worse average health, but income inequality and steepness of the health gradient were only marginally associated.

Conclusions

Linear health gradients suggest gains in health per rank of income and of origins even at the very extremes of the distribution. Intergenerational transmission of status gains in importance in countries with higher income inequality. Countries differ in the association of income inequality and income-related health gradient, and low income inequality may mask health problems of vulnerable individuals with low status. Not only income inequality, but other country characteristics such as familial orientation play a considerable role in explaining steepness of the health gradient.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Chauvel and Leist.

【 图 表 】

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