Combining education and income into a socioeconomic position score for use in studies of health inequalities ...

• Main Authors: Lindberg, Marie Hella, Chen, Gang, Olsen, Jan Abel, Abelsen, Birgit
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: figshare 2022
• Subjects: Space Science; Medicine; Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Sociology; FOS Sociology; Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Science Policy; Northern Norway
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5995766; https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/Combining_education_and_income_into_a_socioeconomic_position_score_for_use_in_studies_of_health_inequalities/5995766

Abstract Background In studies of social inequalities in health, there is no consensus on the best measure of socioeconomic position (SEP). Moreover, subjective indicators are increasingly used to measure SEP. The aim of this paper was to develop a composite score for SEP based on weighted combinations of education and income in estimating subjective SEP, and examine how this score performs in predicting inequalities in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods We used data from a comprehensive health survey from Northern Norway, conducted in 2015/16 (N = 21,083). A composite SEP score was developed using adjacent-category logistic regression of subjective SEP as a function of four education and four household income levels. Weights were derived based on these indicators’ coefficients in explaining variations in respondents’ subjective SEP. The composite SEP score was further applied to predict inequalities in HRQoL, measured by the EQ-5D and a visual analogue scale. Results Education seemed to ...