International Journal of Epidemiology 2002;31:336-341
© International Epidemiological Association 2002
Life Course Epidemiology |
Accumulated labour market disadvantage and limiting long-term illness: data from the 1971–1991 Office for National Statistics' Longitudinal Study
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1–19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
M Bartley
Abstract
Background Both social class and unemployment have been shown in many studies to be related to ill health. Recent work in social epidemiology has demonstrated the importance of examining the accumulation of disadvantage over the life course. This paper therefore uses a large longitudinal data set to examine the accumulation of both disadvantaged class and unemployment over a 20-year period in a representative sample of the male working population of England and Wales.
Methods Logistic regression.
Results Both membership of semi- or unskilled social class and unemployment in 1971 were related to limiting long-term illness (LLTI) in 1991 independently of each other, and of subsequent social class and unemployment. Any occurrence of disadvantaged social class or of unemployment added significantly to the risk of LLTI. A labour market disadvantage score comprising the number of occasions on which a study member had been either in a disadvantaged social class or unemployed showed a clear and graded relationship to illness, with odds of 4 to 1 in the worst-scoring group.
Conclusion The experiences of disadvantaged social class or unemployment at any time during this period contributed independently to an increased risk of chronic limiting illness up to 20 years later in the life course. Whereas improvements in social conditions at any one time will lessen the long-term combined impact of accumulated labour market disadvantage on health, it may not prove easy to obtain short term improvements in health inequality.
Keywords Adult, health status, longitudinal studies, unemployment, social class, socioeconomic factors, England
Accepted 3 April 2001
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  F. Popham and R. Mitchell Self-rated life expectancy and lifetime socio-economic position: cross-sectional analysis of the British household panel survey Int. J. Epidemiol., February 1, 2007; 36(1): 58 - 65. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M H. Brenner Commentary: Economic growth is the basis of mortality rate decline in the 20th century--experience of the United States 1901-2000 Int. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2005; 34(6): 1214 - 1221. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Hyde, J. Hagberg, G. Oxenstierna, T. Theorell, and H. Westerlund Bridges, pathways and valleys: labour market position and risk of hospitalization in a Swedish sample aged 55 - 63 Scand J Public Health, October 1, 2004; 32(5): 368 - 373. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 O. Naess, B. Claussen, D. S Thelle, and G. Davey Smith Cumulative deprivation and cause specific mortality. A census based study of life course influences over three decades J. Epidemiol. Community Health, July 1, 2004; 58(7): 599 - 603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M Bartley, A Sacker, and P Clarke Employment status, employment conditions, and limiting illness: prospective evidence from the British household panel survey 1991-2001 J. Epidemiol. Community Health, June 1, 2004; 58(6): 501 - 506. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. COOPER Evidence-based mental health policy: a critical appraisal The British Journal of Psychiatry, August 1, 2003; 183(2): 105 - 113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|