Jian Sun1, Shoujun Lyu1,2, Rui Zhao3. 1. School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, People's Republic of China. 2. China Institute for Urban Governance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, People's Republic of China. 3. Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Hebei 071000, People's Republic of China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Health is viewed as a form of human capital and a necessary basis for people to realize capabilities. Moreover, socioeconomic inequality in health outcome widens income inequality and exacerbates social inequality. The aim of this study is to measure socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes among the elderly in China. METHODS: The data used in this study were sourced from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2015, including 5643 participants aged 60 and above. Concentration curve and concentration index were applied to measure the extent of socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes among older adults. Furthermore, the decomposition method of concentration index proposed by Wagstaff was employed to quantify each determinant's contribution to the measured socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes. RESULTS: The concentration index of Activity of Daily Living Scale and Center of Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale score were -0.0064 and -0.0158, respectively, indicating pro-rich inequality in physical and mental health among the elderly. The decomposition analysis revealed that household income (41.15%), aged 70-79 (17.37%), being male (8.38%), and living in urban area (5.78%) were key factors to explain the pro-rich inequality in physical health. Furthermore, the results also suggested that household income (68.41%), being male (17.55%), having junior high school education (10.67%), and living in urban area (6.49%) were key factors to explain the pro-rich inequality in mental health. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that there are pro-rich inequalities in physical and mental health among the elderly in China, and the degree of pro-rich inequality in mental health is higher than that in physical health. Moreover, the results also suggested that household income is the biggest contributor to socioeconomic inequality in physical and mental health. Furthermore, this study found that educational attainment makes a substantial contribution to socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes, while the contribution of health insurance to health inequality is limited.
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Health is viewed as a form of human capital and a necessary basis for people to realize capabilities. Moreover, socioeconomic inequality in health outcome widens income inequality and exacerbates social inequality. The aim of this study is to measure socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes among the elderly in China. METHODS: The data used in this study were sourced from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2015, including 5643 participants aged 60 and above. Concentration curve and concentration index were applied to measure the extent of socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes among older adults. Furthermore, the decomposition method of concentration index proposed by Wagstaff was employed to quantify each determinant's contribution to the measured socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes. RESULTS: The concentration index of Activity of Daily Living Scale and Center of Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale score were -0.0064 and -0.0158, respectively, indicating pro-rich inequality in physical and mental health among the elderly. The decomposition analysis revealed that household income (41.15%), aged 70-79 (17.37%), being male (8.38%), and living in urban area (5.78%) were key factors to explain the pro-rich inequality in physical health. Furthermore, the results also suggested that household income (68.41%), being male (17.55%), having junior high school education (10.67%), and living in urban area (6.49%) were key factors to explain the pro-rich inequality in mental health. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that there are pro-rich inequalities in physical and mental health among the elderly in China, and the degree of pro-rich inequality in mental health is higher than that in physical health. Moreover, the results also suggested that household income is the biggest contributor to socioeconomic inequality in physical and mental health. Furthermore, this study found that educational attainment makes a substantial contribution to socioeconomic inequality in health outcomes, while the contribution of health insurance to health inequality is limited.
Authors: Ju Ryoung Moon; June Huh; Jinyoung Song; I-Seok Kang; Seung Woo Park; Sung-A Chang; Ji-Hyuk Yang; Tae-Gook Jun Journal: Health Qual Life Outcomes Date: 2017-09-05 Impact factor: 3.186
Authors: Cong Liu; Renjie Chen; Francesco Sera; Ana M Vicedo-Cabrera; Yuming Guo; Shilu Tong; Micheline S Z S Coelho; Paulo H N Saldiva; Eric Lavigne; Patricia Matus; Nicolas Valdes Ortega; Samuel Osorio Garcia; Mathilde Pascal; Massimo Stafoggia; Matteo Scortichini; Masahiro Hashizume; Yasushi Honda; Magali Hurtado-Díaz; Julio Cruz; Baltazar Nunes; João P Teixeira; Ho Kim; Aurelio Tobias; Carmen Íñiguez; Bertil Forsberg; Christofer Åström; Martina S Ragettli; Yue-Leon Guo; Bing-Yu Chen; Michelle L Bell; Caradee Y Wright; Noah Scovronick; Rebecca M Garland; Ai Milojevic; Jan Kyselý; Aleš Urban; Hans Orru; Ene Indermitte; Jouni J K Jaakkola; Niilo R I Ryti; Klea Katsouyanni; Antonis Analitis; Antonella Zanobetti; Joel Schwartz; Jianmin Chen; Tangchun Wu; Aaron Cohen; Antonio Gasparrini; Haidong Kan Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2019-08-22 Impact factor: 91.245