Abstract
People in low socio-economic positions are over-represented in suicide statistics and are at heightened risk for non-fatal suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Few studies have tried to tease out the relationship between individual-level and area-level socio-economic position, however. We used data from Ten to Men (the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health) to investigate the relationship between individual-level and area-level socio-economic position and suicidal thinking in 12,090 men. We used a measure of unemployment/employment and occupational skill level as our individual-level indicator of socio-economic position. We used the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (a composite multidimensional construct created by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that combines information from a range of area-level variables, including the prevalence of unemployment and employment in low skilled occupations) as our area-level indicator. We assessed suicidal thinking using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). We found that even after controlling for common predictors of suicidal thinking; low individual-level and area-level socio-economic position heightened risk. Individual-level socio-economic position appeared to exert the greater influence of the two; however. There is an onus on policy makers and planners from within and outside the mental health sector to take individual- and area-level socio-economic position into account when they are developing strategic initiatives.
Highlights
IntroductionInequities in health are of major concern to policy-makers and practitioners across the board
Inequities in health are of major concern to policy-makers and practitioners across the board.Health inequities can be thought of as the subset of inequalities—or differences—in the health of individuals and groups that are value-based and underpinned by injustice, unfairness or avoidability [1]
In order to be included in the current analysis, the men in the cohort had to have provided data that allowed us to classify them on the basis of the primary outcome and the main exposure variables
Summary
Inequities in health are of major concern to policy-makers and practitioners across the board. Health inequities can be thought of as the subset of inequalities—or differences—in the health of individuals and groups that are value-based and underpinned by injustice, unfairness or avoidability [1]. A major driver of health inequities is socio-economic position. Socio-economic position is a complex construct which relates to the differential opportunities individuals, households and communities have to access the resources that enable good health. Different indicators of socio-economic position capture different components of this construct at an individual level. Education best captures human capital in terms of the capacity of individuals to access and understand information. Education shapes people’s job opportunities and future income. Occupation has traditionally been thought of as a measure of social status depending on the
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
