Health inequalities in the early years: Is there equalisation in youth?

West, Patrick

doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00188-8

Cited by 436 publications

(405 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Next, a search of existing documents in the literature and other similar epidemiological projects was performed, [34][35][36][37][38] and advice of the HELENA partners and international experts in the field was taken in case of doubt. We decided to use more recently developed multiple non-occupational SES indicators.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We decided to use more recently developed multiple non-occupational SES indicators. [37][38] All documents, including questionnaires and study procedures, were then circulated to all HELENA partners and were discussed in plenary HELENA meetings. A first version of these documents was fixed, and all self-report questionnaires to be completed by the adolescents were translated and back translated into the native language of the participants.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socioeconomic questionnaire and clinical assessment in the HELENA Cross-Sectional Study: methodology

et al. 2008

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Rationale: Environmental factors such as dietary habits, breastfeeding, socioeconomic conditions and educational factors are strong influences on nutritional and puberty status, physical activity, food choices and their interactions. Several diseases of adulthood seem to be linked to, or to originate from, lifestyle in childhood and adolescence. Objective: The aims of this study are to describe birth parameters and socioeconomic factors and to assess clinical status in adolescents aged 13-16 years from 10 European countries participating in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Cross-Sectional Study (CSS). Methodology: A self-report questionnaire on the socioeconomic status, a parental questionnaire concerning neonatal period and also a case report form (CRF), in which clinical items during clinical examination (such as medical history, treatments, anthropometry, Tanner staging, blood pressure, heart rate) were assessed. To develop these documents, first a list of items was established, a search of existing documents was performed and the advice of local and international experts was taken. All documents (questionnaires and an operations manual) were discussed in plenary HELENA meetings; a final version of these documents was fixed, and the process of translation and back translation was performed. Results:The questionnaires and CRF were tested for validation in all 10 participant cities; 208 adolescents were enrolled during the pilot study. All items that caused problems or questions in one or more participating centers or were completed by o 85% of the adolescents were reviewed before the beginning of the HELENA-CSS. Conclusion: These final questionnaires and CRF will contribute to better understanding of the inequalities in nutrition, behavior and health in the European adolescent population. The experience and process should be useful for other multicenter studies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic questionnaire and clinical assessment in the HELENA Cross-Sectional Study: methodology

et al. 2008

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“…Patrick West argues that there is a strong socioeconomic gradient in childhood, but that it decreases or virtually disappears in youth, i.e from age 12. Youth would be a period of relative equality in health with respect to self-rated health (West, 1988), mortality, symptoms of acute illness, nonfatal accidents and injuries (West, 1988(West, , 1997). West's approach is mainly descriptive and it raises the question of the extent to which the association between socioeconomic status and child health reflects a causal effect of socioeconomic status as opposed to the endogeneity of socioeconomic status.…”

Section: The Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family income and child health in the UK

Apouey

Geoffard

2013

Journal of Health Economics

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Recent studies examining the relationship between family income and child health in the UK have produced mixed findings. We re-examine the income gradient in child general health and its evolution with child age in this country, using a very large sample of British children. We find that there is no correlation between income and child general health at ages 0-1, that the gradient emerges around age 2 and remains constant from ages 2 to 17. In addition, we show that the gradient is likely to represent a causal effect of income on child health. Furthermore, we suggest that the gradient in general health reflects a greater prevalence of chronic conditions among low-income children and a greater severity of these conditions. Taken together, these results suggest that income does matter for child health in the UK and may play a role in the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status.JEL classification: I1

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“…the interaction term between SES and child ages 6-8 --this interaction is our reference category (covariates are included). We suppose that our outcome of interest is weight-for-age and that the coefficient on SES is negative, which means that income is negatively correlated with weight for the reference age group (ages [6][7][8]. If the interaction term between SES and age 10-12 years is negative, then the effect of SES on weight-for-age is significantly greater (in absolute value) at ages 10-12 than at ages 6-8, which implies that inequalities in weight widen between ages 6-8 and 10-12.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child physical development in the UK: the imprint of time and socioeconomic status

Apouey

2016

Public Health

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Objectives. Social health inequalities remain a key policy challenge. The existing literature has not presented a synthetic view on the evolution of inequalities in physical development across childhood.We examine social disparities as children grow older using a range of different outcomes.Study design. Population-based secondary data analysis. Methods.We employ longitudinal data on British children ages 9 months to 12 years from the Millennium Cohort Study (N=13,811-18,987) and focus on multiple child physical measures: weight, BMI, overweight, fat mass, and waist circumference.Results. Higher family income is associated with lower BMI (for females), less body fat, and a smaller likelihood of overweight (for both genders) on average throughout childhood. When income is multiplied by three, the probability of overweight decreases by 2.8 (95% CI -0.041 to -0.016) percentage points for females and by 2.7 (95% CI -0.038 to -0.016) percentage points for males. Social inequalities in weight, BMI, overweight, and body fat significantly widen as children grow older, for both genders. For instance, for females, when income is multiplied by three, the probability of overweight decreases by 1.6 (95% CI -0.032 to -0.000) percentage points at ages 2-3, but by 8.6 (95% CI -0.112 to -0.060) percentage points at ages 10-12.Conclusions. The trajectory of social inequalities, which may reflect the cumulative effect of family socioeconomic status, is a precursor of inequalities in adulthood.

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Health inequalities in the early years: Is there equalisation in youth?

Cited by 436 publications

References 83 publications

Socioeconomic questionnaire and clinical assessment in the HELENA Cross-Sectional Study: methodology

Socioeconomic questionnaire and clinical assessment in the HELENA Cross-Sectional Study: methodology

Family income and child health in the UK

Child physical development in the UK: the imprint of time and socioeconomic status

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