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Evidence from the 2001 English Census on the contribution of employment status to the social gradient in self-rated health

Popham, F.; Bambra, C.

Evidence from the 2001 English Census on the contribution of employment status to the social gradient in self-rated health Thumbnail


Authors

F. Popham

C. Bambra



Abstract

Background Unemployment and economic inactivity are associated with poor health. There are social gradients in unemployment and economic inactivity, so it was hypothesised that they may contribute to the social gradient in self-rated health. Methods Data on employment status, socio-economic position (SEP) and self-rated heath were obtained for people of working age (25–59) who had ever worked from a 3% sample of the 2001 English census. The age-adjusted prevalence differences in poor general health for four separate measures of SEP were compared with the prevalence differences obtained after additional adjustment for employment status. Results Prevalence differences for poor health were reduced by 50% or over when adjusting for employment status (for men ranging from 57% to 81%, for women 50% to 74%). Discussion The social gradient in employment status contributes greatly to the social gradient in self-reported health. Understanding why this is the case could be important for tackling social inequalities in health.

Citation

Popham, F., & Bambra, C. (2010). Evidence from the 2001 English Census on the contribution of employment status to the social gradient in self-rated health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 64(3), 277-280. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2009.087452

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Mar 1, 2010
Deposit Date May 2, 2010
Publicly Available Date Jun 1, 2010
Journal Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Print ISSN 0143-005X
Electronic ISSN 1470-2738
Publisher BMJ Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 64
Issue 3
Pages 277-280
DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2009.087452

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Accepted Journal Article (241 Kb)
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Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (JECH). The definitive copyedited, typeset version
Popham, F. and Bambra, C. (2010) 'Evidence from the 2001 English Census on the contribution of employment status to the social gradient in self-rated health.', Journal of epidemiology and community health., 64 (3). pp. 277-280 is available online at : http://jech.bmj.com




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