Impact of socioeconomic status on Brazilian elderly health

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the impact of socioeconomic status on elderly health. METHODS:The study was based on cross-sectional data from Survey on Health, Well-Being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean. The sample comprised 2,143 non-institutionalized elderly aged 60 years and older living in the urban area of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Linear regression models estimated the effect of socioeconomic status indicators (years of schooling completed, occupation and purchasing power) on each one of the following health indicators: depression, self-rated health, morbidity and memory capacity. A 5% signifi cance level was set. RESULTS:There was a signifi cant effect of years of education and purchasing power on self-rated health and memory capacity when controlled for the variables number of diseases during childhood, bed rest for at least a month due to health problems during childhood, self-rated health during childhood, living arrangements, sex, age, marital status, category of health insurance, intake of medicines. Only purchasing power had an effect on depression. Despite the bivariate association between socioeconomic status indicators and number of diseases (morbidity), this effect was no longer seen after including the controls in the model. CONCLUSIONS:The study results confirm the association between socioeconomic status indicators and health among Brazilian elderly, but only for some dimensions of socioeconomic status and certain health outcomes. RESULTADOS:Observou-se efeito signifi cativo dos anos de estudo e do poder de compra na auto-avaliação da saúde e na capacidade da memória, quando controlado pelas variáveis: número de doenças antes dos 15 anos de idade, ter fi cado na cama ao menos por um mês por problema de saúde antes dos 15 anos, auto-avaliação da saúde na infância, arranjos de vida, sexo, idade, estado civil, tipo de seguro de saúde, ingestão de remédios. Somente a capacidade de compra apresentou efeito na depressão. Apesar das análises bivariadas indicarem uma associação entre status socioeconômico e o número de doenças (morbidade), este efeito desapareceu quando os controles entraram no modelo. CONCLUSÕES:Os resultados confi rmam a associação entre indicadores socioeconômicos e a saúde dos idosos brasileiros, mas somente entre alguns indicadores e certos aspectos da saúde. DESCRITORES: Saúde do idoso. Condições sociais. Fatores socioeconômicos. Estudos transversais. SABE. Brasil.The impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on elderly health is controversial. Some studies show that older adults with high SES have better health than those with low SES, 2,15,18 but other studies show that the strength of this association decreases, or even disappears, among older ages. 1,5,10 However, there are very few studies about this relationship in developing countries. 13,21 Most experts hold that SES differences in health are produced as a result of various health-related factors such as living and working conditions, access to health care services, social relationships, and diversifi...

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