Age and Socioeconomic Gradients of Health of Indian Adults: An Assessment of Self-Reported and Biological Measures of Health

Abstract

This paper describes overall socioeconomic gradients and the age patterns of socioeconomic gradients of health of Indian adults for multiple health indicators encompassing the multiple aspects of health. Cross-sectional data on 11,230 Indians aged 18 years and older from the WHO-SAGE India Wave 1, 2007 were analyzed. Multivariate logit models were estimated to examine effects of socioeconomic status (education and household wealth) and age on four health domains: self-rated health, self-reported functioning, chronic diseases, and biological health measures. Results show that socioeconomic status (SES) was negatively associated with prevalence of each health measure but with considerable heterogeneity across age groups. Results for hypertension and COPD were inconclusive. SES effects are significant while adjusting for background characteristics and health risk factors. The age patterns of SES gradient of health depict divergence with age, however, no conclusive age pattern emerged for biological markers. Overall, results in this paper dispelled the conclusion of negative SES-health association found in some previous Indian studies and reinforced the hypothesis of positive association of SES with health for Indian adults. Higher prevalence of negative health outcomes and SES disparities of health outcomes among older age-groups highlight need for inclusive and focused health care interventions for older adults across socioeconomic spectrum.

Socioeconomic patterns of underweight and its association with self-rated health, cognition and quality of life among older adults in India

“…The result is consistent with previous literature which showed higher prevalence of nutritional deficiency among older population in South India [ 62 ]. Further, socioeconomic status was found to be strongly associated with underweight, as shown in previous studies conducted among younger and older adults [ 9 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. A higher prevalence of underweight was found among less educated and older adults in the lower wealth quintile category.…”

“…Further, the association of underweight was examined with three outcomes: self-rated health, cognition and quality of life. Previous literature from India among middle-aged and older populations demonstrates that underweight is concentrated in adults of low socioeconomic status [ 9 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ] and rural residents [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Despite the fact that overweight and obesity are strong predictors of mortality in other parts of the world, in Asian countries such as India and China excess mortality owing to underweight is seen higher [ 25 , 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”

Secondary prophylaxis to control rheumatic heart disease in developing countries: Put into a cage if can’t be killed

“…The incidence and prevalence of this disease truly under reported because of poor infrastructure in the health sectors in the developing countries. A large and rapidly rising in population growth, rising in number of urban slums, lack of uniform socioeconomic growth and sanitary condition are the major hurdles to eradicate this disease from Indian subcontinent even through the initial desire to eradicate this disease dates to 1960 in India and guideline to prevent and treat this disease was formed by WHO dates back 1960 15, 16, 17. RHD causes significant additional financial burden by crippling and killing the most contributing age group i.e.…”

Racial or Ethnic Health Disparities among Older Adults in Four Population Groups in South Africa

“…Chronic conditions were assessed as follows: arthritis (symptoms algorithm based) [43], asthma (self-reported diagnosed and/or symptoms algorithm based) [43], lung disease (symptoms algorithm based) [43], obesity (standard height and weight measures) [32] and diabetes, stroke, angina and edentulism (self-reported diagnosed) [32].…”