Income trajectories and self-rated health status in the UK

Abstract

In line with the wide recognition of the connection between socioeconomic status and health outcomes, attention in the recent literature is extending the static perspective to the dynamic implications of income on health. This study contributes to the growing literature on the income-health nexus by evaluating income dynamics on various self-rated health measures in the UK. We explore the impact of different indicators of income experiences on self-rated health and wellbeing outcomes using data from the 11 Waves of Understanding Society UK Household Longitudinal Study between 2009 and 2019. First, we estimate a fixed-effects ordered logit model for various health and wellbeing measures, allowing us to control for unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity. Second, we evaluate the effects of income trajectories by linking longitudinal household income to cross-sectional health outcomes. Our results confirm the general evidence of positive impacts of increasing family income on health. Besides, we find that stability in income position is strongly associated with improved health and wellbeing. On the other hand, income volatility increases the odds of reporting poor health outcomes, particularly for those in low-income households. Also, more years spent in a lower-income quartile reduces the odds of reporting improved self-rated health. Finally, the significant difference in the estimated effects of income before and after 2016 highlights the significant shifts in the effects of income trajectories on self-reported health and wellbeing following the National Living Wage policy implementation.

Understanding the relationship between income and mental health among 16- to 24-year-olds: Analysis of 10 waves (2009–2020) of Understanding Society to enable modelling of income interventions

“…The findings also support those of Akanni, Lenhart and Morton’s [ 47 ] longitudinal fixed-effects model for health and wellbeing outcomes using Understanding Society data in relation to all ages. They found that household real disposable income positively affects general health, mental health, and life satisfaction.…”

“…Using several models to estimate cross-sectional regressions of health and wellbeing outcomes using longitudinal income information, they also found that long-term income and income position stability increases the likelihood of reporting improved physical and mental health and increased satisfaction with leisure and life. [ 47 p7]. This reflects Whitfield, Betancur, Miller and Votruba-Drzal’s [ 48 ] findings using data from young adults and their families in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79) and its Young Adult Survey supplement (NLSY-YA).…”

Cooking fuel types and the health effects: A field study in China

“…For respondents whose household per capita income was 5,594 yuan, when their income increases by 10%, the probability of reporting a good health condition increase by 0.004. This result is comparable to Akanni et al (2022) who explore income trajectories and self-rated health status in the UK and find that increased household income is associated with an increased likelihood of reporting excellent general health outcomes. Some studies also find that individuals who reported excellent health have higher household incomes than those likely to report a lower self-rated health category (Davillas et al, 2019).…”

Flow cytometry: Aspects and application in plant and biological science

“…It is recommended the significance of bone marrow sample for the initial immunophenotyping test in children, while subsequent analyses could be performed using peripheral blood [141]. Adults can undergo the initial stage of immunophenotyping using peripheral blood samples [142,143]. Reagents like Cyto-Chex and formaldehyde may be effective in prolonging the time that blood is stored while waiting for the conductance of cytometry.…”