Indicators Of Individual Socioeconomic Status Research Articles

From Cybercrime to Digital Balance: How Human Development Shapes Digital Risk Cultures

This article examines configurations of digital concerns within the European Union (EU27), a leading hub of innovation and policy development. The core objective is to uncover the social forces shaping technology acceptance and risk awareness, which are essential for fostering a resilient digital society in the EU. The study draws upon Bourdieu’s concept of capital to discuss technological capital and digital habitus and Beck’s risk society theory to frame the analysis of individual and national attitudes towards digital risks. Utilizing Eurobarometer data, the research operationalizes technological capital through proxy indicators of individual socioeconomic status and internet use, while country-level development indicators are used to predict aggregated national risk perception. Article contributions rely on individual- and country-level statistical analysis. Specifically, the study reveals that digital concerns are better predicted at a national level rather than individual level, being shaped by infrastructure, policy, and narrative rather than by personal technological capital. Key findings highlight a positive and a negative correlation between digital advancement with cybersecurity fears and digital literacy, respectively. HDI and DESI are relevant country-level predictors of public concerns, while CGI values are not. Using cluster analysis, we identify and interpret four digital risk cultures within the EU, each with varying foci and levels of concern, which correspond to economic, political, and cultural influences at the national level.

A Review of the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status Change and Health.

This review aimed to identify and synthesize the existing literature on the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) changes on health. A review was conducted using Medline, Cochrane library, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature). All longitudinal or cross-sectional studies that examined links between changes to SES across different time periods and measured health outcomes were included. Screening was conducted using select inclusion and exclusion criteria in order of title, abstract, and full text. Two independent reviewers assessed the quality of the full text articles using the Downs and Black checklist. Our literature search led to 2719 peer reviewed articles, 2639 of which were title screened after duplicates were removed. A total of 117 abstracts and 12 full text articles were screened. Overall, findings from 11 articles form the basis of this review. Eight different types of measures of changes to SES were identified. These include education, occupation, economic security, income sufficiency, home ownership, car ownership, health insurance, and marital status. Assessed outcomes included measures related to physical health, cardiovascular disease, mental health, and oral health. A large proportion of studies found that an SES change impacts health. Evidence suggests that those with consistently high SES have the best health outcomes, followed by those who report their SES change from low to high (upward social mobility). Evidence on the relative health effects for those who report their SES change from high to low (downward social mobility) compared to those who report consistently low SES is inconsistent. Current evidence suggests that an SES change has an impact on an individual's health. More research on the effects of SES changes on health outcomes in adulthood is needed and can inform various areas of health research including health resiliency and development. Future studies should focus on individual SES indicators and their effects on health outcomes at multiple points throughout life.

Cumulative socioeconomic status and incident type 2 diabetes among African American adults from the Jackson heart study

BackgroundThe cumulative socioeconomic status (SES) model posits that childhood and adult experiences accumulate to influence disease risk. While individual SES indicators such as education and income are independently associated with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D), the association of cumulative SES and incident T2D is unclear, especially in African American adults. MethodsWe utilized cohort data of African American participants (n = 3681, mean age 52.6 years) enrolled in the Jackson Heart Study from 2000 to 2013 free of T2D or cardiovascular disease at baseline (2000–2004). Cumulative SES scores at baseline were derived using six SES indicators (education, wealth, income, occupation, employment status, and mother's education) categorized as low, middle, and high. Incident T2D was defined at exam 2 (2005–2008) or exam 3 (2009–2013) based on fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL, HbA1c ≥ 6.5, reported diabetic medication use, or self-reported physician diagnosis. Proportional hazards regression, allowing for interval censoring, was used to estimate the association between cumulative SES and incident T2D (hazard ratio(HR), 95% confidence interval (CI)) after adjustment for covariates. Sex and age differences were tested using interaction terms. ResultsThere were 544 incident T2D cases. The association between low (versus high) cumulative SES and incident T2D was not significant (HR 1.04 [95% CI 0.85, 1.28]) and did not differ by sex (p value for interaction>0.05). However, there were differences by (age p value for interaction = 0.0052 for middle-aged adults and 0.0186 for older adults). Low (versus high) cumulative SES was associated a greater hazard of incident T2D among those 20–46 years (HR 1.12 [95% CI 1.03, 1.21]), 47–59 years (HR 1.25 [95% CI 1.06, 1.47]) and those 60–93 years (HR 1.39 [95% CI 1.09, 1.78]) after adjustment for sex and family history of diabetes. Associations attenuated after adding behavioral and lifestyle risk factors. ConclusionThe association of low cumulative SES and incident T2D differed by age, which may suggest interventionist should consider impacts of SES on T2D by age.

Abstract P063: Socioeconomic Status And Component Of Iatrogenic Obesity In The United States

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are more prevalent in people with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Use of obesogenic prescription medications such as certain anticonvulsants, antidepressants, beta-blockers, and antidiabetic medications may contribute to the disparities in obesity by SES in US adults. Methods Using data from the 2009-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we assessed the use of obesogenic medication by SES among overweight and obese adults aged ≥20 years taking ≥1 prescription medication. Based on low SES indicator – <high school education, household income <federal poverty level, and having public health insurance only, we categorized participants into 3 SES groups (0, 1, and ≥2 low SES indicators as high, intermediate, and low SES). We used logistic regression to examine the association between SES and obesogenic medication use. All analyses accounted for the complex NHANES survey design. Results Among 11,796 participants (mean age 54.6, 54.1% female), the mean body mass index (SE) was 32.5 (0.1) kg/m 2 . Use of obesogenic medication was more common among people with lower SES in all survey years, with a trend toward increased prevalence over time among people with low SES ( Figure ). Lower SES was associated with obesogenic medication use in demographic-adjusted models (OR 1.4 [95%CI 1.2-1.5] for intermediate SES and 1.9 [1.7-2.1] for low SES, compared to high SES). The associations remained significant after further accounting for number of medications (OR [95% CI] =1.1 [1.0-1.3] for intermediate SES and 1.2 [1.0-1.4] for low SES). Results were consistent when assessed by individual SES indicators. Conclusions: Use of obesogenic medication is common in the US. Lower SES was associated with more frequent use of obesogenic medication even after controlling for medication burden. These results suggest that disparities in obesogenic medication use may contribute to the higher obesity prevalence among people with lower SES.

Socioeconomic status and risk of incident venous thromboembolism

BackgroundAlthough venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and socioeconomic status (SES) affects human health and health behavior, few studies have examined the association between SES and VTE. ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate the association between SES, assessed individually and in a composite score by levels of education, income, and employment status, and incident VTE. MethodsWe used Danish national registries to identify 51 350 persons aged 25–65 years with incident VTE during 1995–2016. For each case, we used incidence density sampling to select five age‐, sex‐, and index‐year‐matched controls from the general Danish population (n = 256 750). SES indicators, including education, income, and employment status, were assessed 1 and 5 years before the VTE. We used conditional logistic regression to compute odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for VTE according to individual SES indicators and a composite SES score in analyses adjusted for age, sex, and comorbidities. ResultsCompared with low levels, high educational level (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.71–0.77), high income (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.68–0.72), and high employment status (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.64–0.68) were associated with decreased risk of VTE, even after adjusting for comorbidities. A composite SES score was superior to the individual indicators in assessing VTE risk (OR for high vs. low score: 0.61; 95% CI 0.59–0.63). In sensitivity analysis with SES indicators measured 5 years before the VTE, the risk estimates remained essentially the same. ConclusionHigh levels of both individual SES indicators and a composite SES score were associated with decreased VTE risk.

Socioeconomic disparities in prevalence and behaviors of smoking in rural Southwest China

BackgroundThis study examines how prevalence and behaviors of smoking differ by socioeconomic status among rural southwest Chinese adults.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted including 7743 adults aged ≥35 years in rural regions of Yunnan Province, China from 2016 to 2018. Information on individual socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and self-reported smoking behaviors was collected utilizing a standardized questionnaire. The individual socioeconomic position (SEP) index was constructed using principal component analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between individual SES variables and the prevalence and behaviors of smoking.ResultsIn the study population, the overall prevalence rate of current smokers was 33.5%. Males had a markedly higher prevalence of current smokers than females (62.6% vs. 4.8%, P < 0.01). Of these smokers, 74.5% began smoking during adolescence, 88.8% had never attempted to quit smoking, and 81.1% reported smoking in public places. Ethnic minority participants and those with low levels of education and/or low SEP were more likely to use tobacco as well as more likely to start smoking, and regularly smoke, during adolescence (P < 0.01). Participants with poor access to medical services had a higher prevalence of current smoking than their counterparts (P < 0.01). Among current smokers, Han ethnicity, good access to medical services, and high SEP were positively associated with the probability of having attempted to quit smoking at least once, while a high level of education and high SEP were negatively associated with the probability of smoking in public places.ConclusionsDisparities in prevalence and behaviors of smoking exist across a diversity of indicators of individual SES in rural southwest China. Future tobacco cessation interventions should focus on men, ethnic minorities, and those with low education levels, poor access to medical services, and low SEP.

Abstract P289: Social Determinants of Long Term Maintenance of Physical Activity: The Jackson Heart Study

Background: Data showing long term efficacy and sustained active lifestyle change are scant. Identifying social determinants for maintaining an active lifestyle overtime may help pinpoint barriers/facilitators for sustaining an active lifestyle change. Methods: We evaluated the associations between social determinants of health (SDH) and changes in physical activity (PA). The analysis dataset included 3,741 participants in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) who completed the PA questionnaire at exams 1 and 3, approximately 8 years apart. Participants were classified into 3 PA groups-poor (0 minutes/week moderate/vigorous activity), intermediate (some moderate/vigorous activity), or ideal (≥75 minutes/week vigorous or ≥150 minutes/week moderate or ≥150 minutes/week combined moderate/vigorous activity). SDH evaluated were individual level socioeconomic status (SES), social support, perceived stress and neighborhood characteristics. Other covariates included age, sex and body mass index (BMI). Unadjusted analyses followed by multivariable logistic regression analyses with backward selection were performed to explore the most significant SDH associated with changes in PA. Results: Twenty-eight percent (28%) participants had poor PA at both exams; 35.5% had at least intermediate PA at both exams; 19.2% changed from poor to intermediate/ideal PA and 17.8% changed from intermediate/ideal to poor PA overtime. In unadjusted analyses, among participants with intermediate/ideal PA at exam 1, younger age, higher levels of SES and greater social support; as well as higher neighborhood SES, greater social cohesion, fewer neighborhood problems and violence were positively associated with maintaining intermediate/ideal PA at exam 3. Among those with poor PA at exam 1, the same factors other than social cohesion were associated with improved PA to moderate/ideal level at exam 3. Sex, perceived stress, number of PA facilities in the neighborhood or being overweight/obese at either exam was not associated with changes in physical activity levels. Exploratory multivariable logistic regression with backward selection suggested that all three individual SES indicators were important factors for maintaining moderate/ideal PA levels at exam 3; and younger age, higher education, and higher neighborhood SES were important factors for improving PA levels from poor to intermediate/ideal. Conclusions: Individual SES indicators were significantly associated with maintaining an intermediate/ideal PA overtime; whereas younger age, higher educational attainment and higher neighborhood SES were significantly associated with changes in PA from poor to intermediate/ideal. Targeting individual education and environmental factors (e.g., neighborhood problems, violence) associated with neighborhood SES may provide most benefit both in initiating and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Socioeconomic status and asthma control in African American youth in SAGE II

Objective: African Americans are disproportionately burdened by asthma. We assessed the individual and joint contribution of socioeconomic status (SES) on asthma morbidity among African American youth. Methods: We examined 686 African Americans (8–21 years) with asthma. To account for the joint effects of SES, a composite index was derived from maternal educational attainment, household income, and insurance status. Ordinal logistic regression was used to estimate the individual and joint effect of SES on asthma control. Models were adjusted for age, sex, controller medication use, in utero smoke exposure, family history of asthma, family history of rhinitis, breastfeeding, daycare attendance, and mold exposure. Results: Participants were classified as Poorly Controlled Asthma (40.8%), Partially Controlled Asthma (29.7%), or Controlled Asthma (30.2%). Of the individual SES indicators, low income was the strongest predictor of poor asthma control. Children with low income had worse asthma control than those with higher income (OR 1.39; 95% CI 0.92–2.12). The SES index ranged from 4–9. SES was associated with 17% increased odds of poor asthma control with each decrease in the index (95% CI 1.05–1.32). The SES index was associated with asthma-related symptoms, nocturnal awakenings, limited activity, and missed school days. Conclusions: The negative effects of SES were observed along the entire socioeconomic gradient, and the adverse asthma outcomes observed in African American youth were not limited to the very poor. We also found that the SES index may be a more consistent and useful predictor of poor asthma outcomes than each indicator alone.

Association between socioeconomic status and obesity in a Chinese adult population

BackgroundExisting studies which regarding to the association between individual socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity are still scarce in developing countries. The major aim of this study is to estimate such association in an adult population which was drawn from an economically prosperous province of China.MethodsStudy population was determined by multilevel randomized sampling. Education and income were chosen as indicators of individual SES, general obesity and abdominal obesity were measured by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Descriptive statistical methods were used to depict overall and factor-specific distributions of general and abdominal obesity among 16,013 respondents. Two-step logistic regression models were fitted on gender basis.ResultsThe age-and-sex adjusted rates of general overweight, general obesity, abdominal overweight and abdominal obesity in study population were 28.9% (95%CI: 27.9%-29.9%), 7.5% (95%CI: 7.0%-8.1%), 32.2% (95%CI: 31.2%-33.3%) and 12.3% (95%CI: 11.6%-13.1%), respectively. Based on model fitting results, a significant inverse association between education and obesity only existed in women, while in men, income rather than education was positively related to obesity.ConclusionsThe atypical SES-obesity relationship we found reflected the on-going social economy transformation in affluent regions of China. High-income men and poorly-educated women were at higher risk of obesity in Zhejiang province, thus merit intense focuses.

Inequality and the association between involuntary job loss and depressive symptoms

Although socioeconomic status (SES) has been to shown to be associated with susceptibility to involuntary job loss as well as with health, the ways in which individual SES indicators may moderate the job loss-health association remain underexplored. Using data from the Americans' Changing Lives study, we estimate the ways in which the association between job loss and depressive symptoms depends on five aspects of SES: education, income, occupational prestige, wealth, and homeownership. Our findings indicate that higher SES prior to job loss is not uniformly associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Higher education and lower prestige appear to buffer the health impacts of job loss, while financial indicators do not. These results have a number of implications for understanding the multidimensional role that social inequality plays in shaping the health effects of job loss.

Socio-economic status and oesophageal cancer: results from a population-based case–control study in a high-risk area

Cancer registries in the 1970s showed that parts of Golestan Province in Iran had the highest rate of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the world. More recent studies have shown that while rates are still high, they are approximately half of what they were before, which might be attributable to improved socio-economic status (SES) and living conditions in this area. We examined a wide range of SES indicators to investigate the association between different SES components and risk of OSCC in the region. Data were obtained from a population-based case-control study conducted between 2003 and 2007 with 300 histologically proven OSCC cases and 571 matched neighbourhood controls. We used conditional logistic regression to compare cases and controls for individual SES indicators, for a composite wealth score constructed using multiple correspondence analysis, and for factors obtained from factors analysis. We found that various dimensions of SES, such as education, wealth and being married were all inversely related to OSCC. The strongest inverse association was found with education. Compared with no education, the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for primary education and high school or beyond were 0.52 (0.27-0.98) and 0.20 (0.06-0.65), respectively. The strong association of SES with OSCC after adjustment for known risk factors implies the presence of yet unidentified risk factors that are correlated with our SES measures; identification of these factors could be the target of future studies. Our results also emphasize the importance of using multiple SES measures in epidemiological studies.

Tuberculosis and race/ethnicity in the United States: impact of socioeconomic status.

Despite the long-standing observation that tuberculosis (TB) case rates are higher among racial and ethnic minorities than whites in the United States (U.S.), the proportion of this increased risk attributable to socioeconomic status (SES) has not been determined. Values for six SES indicators (crowding, income, poverty, public assistance, unemployment, and education) were assigned to U.S. TB cases reported from 1987-1993 by ZIP code- and demographic-specific matching to 1990 U.S. Census data. TB risk between racial/ethnic groups was then evaluated by quartile for each SES indicator utilizing univariate and Poisson multivariate analyses. Relative risk (RR) of TB increased with lower SES quartile for all six SES indicators on univariate analysis (RRs 2.6-5.6 in the lowest versus highest quartiles). The same trend was observed in multivariate models containing individual SES indicators (RRs 1.8-2.5) and for three SES indicators (crowding, poverty, and education) in the model containing all six indicators. Tuberculosis risk increased uniformly between SES quartile for each indicator except crowding, where risk was concentrated in the lowest quartile. Adjusting for SES accounted for approximately half of the increased risk of TB associated with race/ethnicity among U.S.-born blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Even more of this increased risk was accounted for in the final model, which also adjusted for interaction between crowding and race/ethnicity. SES impacts TB incidence via both a strong direct effect of crowding, manifested predominantly in overcrowded settings, and a TB-SES health gradient, manifested at all SES levels. SES accounts for much of the increased risk of TB previously associated with race/ethnicity.

Vasculopathy Associated with the Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome

Antiphospholipid antibodies including the false-positive serologic test for syphilis, the lupus circulating anticoagulant, and the anticardiolipin antibody can be associated with recurrent thrombotic events, recurrent fetal loss, and thrombocytopenia. A range of other possible clinical associations also exists, including neurologic events, skin lesions, and cardiac lesions. The pathology of these lesions and the pathophysiology are discussed. Treatment is controversial but when indicated is directed toward prevention of recurrent episodes using anticoagulants including antiplatelet agents, warfarin, and heparin as well as occasionally prednisone with or without immunosuppressive agents.

Maternal knowledge, attitudes and practice as predictors of diarrhoeal disease in young children.

The focus on diarrhoeal disease as a world wide health problem as demonstrated by recent efforts of international agencies has raised the question of the importance of social factors such as maternal knowledge and attitudes in explaining differential prevalence. Using data from an experimental outreach health delivery programme in Cali, Colombia, this article examines 583 randomly selected women with children 0-4 years of age representing a total population of approximately 70 000. With perceived diarrhoea as the outcome question mothers were questioned on 11 attitude indicators of maternal knowledge and practice about diarrhoeal disease, four indicators of individual socioeconomic status, three indicators of crowding, three of housing quality and two of family sanitary conditions. Results indicate significant elevated prevalence (chi 2 analysis) with 11 variables including knowledge of cause of diarrhoea, where to and how to treat diarrhoea, housing quality, mother's age, education and civil status, type of water service, and where parents were born. Logistic regression performed on variables with significant and near significant prevalence findings indicated that mother's perception of malnutrition in child, age of mother, house appearance, birthplace of mother and mother's general knowledge of diarrhoea were the most important predictive variables in descending order. Authors indicate that these conclusions suggest the importance of social and attitudinal variables in explaining differential diarrhoeal disease among a homogeneous, poor urban population and as such deserve more careful study.

Social Class and Criminality

Social class variations in self-reported criminality are examined using data from a comprehensive sample of adults in three states. The results prove to be contrary to any current theories concerning the relationship between social class and deviance, particularly the most popular ones that postulate an inverse relationship between the two. But it is shown that these findings are actually consistent with the bulk of previous research which shows the relationship to be problematic. The extant evidence seems to mandate reconceptualization of theories of deviance to minimize social class as a variable. Social class has always been a fundamental variable in sociological study of crime/delinquency, and practically every theory has given socioeconomic status a prominent explanatory role. Although several patterns of relationship between class and crime have been theorized (Hirschi, b), the most popular explanations assume an inverse relationship between class position and criminality (A. Cohen, a; Gove; Merton; Miller). And despite some skepticism (see Box and Ford; Empey, for summaries), the belief has persisted for a long time that the bulk of evidence actually demonstrates such a relationship (Bytheway and May; Cressey, 157; Rossides, 443; Wheeler, 213). So firm is this belief that at least one recent book has been written to account for the diverse empirical findings that link social inequality and deviant behavior, particularly in American Society (Hewitt, 3). Further, even though some writers, sobered by the results of some self-report studies, are now careful to limit their generalizations to statements about social class and officially recorded crime or delinquency (Cohen and Short, 110-1; Reid, 66-7), confidence that at least that relationship has been established is almost universal (Hood and Sparks, 54). Yet, the literature concerning this issue is unconvincing. For one thing, methodological weaknesses render much of the evidence problematic. Some frequently cited studies report the relationship between class and crime for ecological areas rather than for individuals (Chilton; Lander; Shaw and McKay; Slatin), and several ostensibly relevant investigations have not in fact employed indicators of individual socioeconomic status (B. *This research was supported by NSF Grant GS-31744.