Abstract
Analysis indicates a positive relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and non-communicable disease (NCDs) in low-income countries, but the relationship becomes negative in high-income countries. This reversal of the relationship between SES and NCDs in different stages of economic development has been labelled the “reversal hypothesis”. Using nine waves of China Health and Nutrition Survey (1991-2015) and six waves of the China Family Panel Studies (2010-2020), we investigated SES-NCD gradient among participants aged 18 years and above. We used self-reported doctor diagnosed conditions to identify NCDs and used educational attainment as the proxy of SES. Multivariable logistic regression models and the Blinder-Oaxaca (BO) decomposition were used. The results shows that prevalence was always lower among higher SES women compared to low SES women, whereas the prevalence was in general similar between high SES and low SES men. The relationship between SES and NCDs are shifting from positive to negative over the past 30 years, whereas an earlier reversal happened among women compared to men. The difference of NCD prevalence is significant at the 5% level among high and low SES women, but not among high and low SES men in most survey years. Most of the differences in NCDs prevalence between high and low SES groups in men and that in women were attributed to the different distributions of explanatory variables included in the model. The findings from this study suggest China has experienced a reversal in the SES gradient of NCDs and women is leading the transition.
Presenters
Xuemei ZhangPhD Candidate, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Public Health Policies and Practices
KEYWORDS
NCDs, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, REVERSAL HYPOTHESIS, GENDER DISPARITIES, CHINA
