Socioeconomic Health Differences among Children aged 10–11 in the Netherlands

Abstract

The magnitude of socioeconomic health differences is not the same in each age-group. During childhood and adolescence inequities in health according to socioeconomic level are relatively small. We studied the relationships among socioeconomic indicators (fathers' and mothers' educational and occupational level) and several health indicators in a population of children aged 10–11. Children of lower socioeconomic status were less healthy than children from parents with a higher socioeconomic status. The strength of the relationship depended on the socioeconomic and health indicators used. Fathers' occupational level was a stronger correlate of health status than was mothers' occupational level. Mothers' or fathers' educational level was correlated equally with health status. Every health indicator had a specific pattern with respect to its relation with the different socioeconomic indicators. This could be indicative of the existence of several mechanisms underlying socioeconomic health differences.