Associations of multiple socio-economic circumstances with physical functioning among Finnish and British employees
Open Access
- 16 October 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in European Journal of Public Health
- Vol. 19 (1), 38-45
- https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckn123
Abstract
Background: To further increase our understanding of socio-economic health inequalities, we need studies considering multiple socio-economic circumstances and comparing different cultural contexts. This study compared the associations of past and present socio-economic circumstances with physical functioning between employees from Finland and Britain. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data from the Helsinki Health Study (n = 5866) and the Whitehall II Study (n = 3052) were used. Participants were white-collar public sector employees aged 45–60 years. Physical functioning was measured with the SF-36 physical component summary. The socio-economic indicators were parental and own education, childhood and current economic difficulties, occupational class, income, housing tenure. Results: Childhood and current economic difficulties were independently associated with physical functioning in both cohorts, although in London women childhood difficulties did not reach statistical significance. Own education was independently associated with physical functioning in Helsinki. Occupational class showed associations with physical functioning in both cohorts. These were mainly attenuated by education and income, but in London women there was a strong independent association. The association of income with physical functioning was attenuated by education (Helsinki) and occupational class (London). Parental education and housing tenure showed no consistent associations. Conclusions: Past and present economic difficulties were independently associated with physical functioning. The conventional socio-economic indicators showed less consistent associations which were partly mediated through other indicators and modified by the national context. The associations that varied according to the indicators and between the cohorts highlight the importance of considering the multiplicity of socio-economic circumstances and comparing different cultural contexts in further studies.Keywords
This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- Education, income, and occupational class cannot be used interchangeably in social epidemiology. Empirical evidence against a common practiceJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2006
- The Sense of Mastery as a Mediator and Moderator in the Association Between Economic Hardship and Health in Late LifeJournal of Aging and Health, 2005
- Socioeconomic status, depression disparities, and financial strain: what lies behind the income‐depression relationship?Health Economics, 2005
- Self-reported economic difficulties and coronary events in men: evidence from the Whitehall II studyInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 2005
- Cohort Profile: The Whitehall II studyInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 2005
- Pathways between socioeconomic determinants of healthJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2004
- Life course epidemiologyJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2003
- Education and occupational social class: which is the more important indicator of mortality risk?Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1998
- Health-related social mobilityScandinavian Journal of Social Medicine, 1997
- Social inequalities in ill-health: the significance of occupational status, education and income-results from a Norwegian survey.Sociology of Health & Illness, 1994