TABLE 1.
Summary of Data Sources, Sample, Measures of Socioeconomic Status (SES), and Health-Related Indicators Used to Examine Income and Education Disparities in Child and Adult Health: United States, 1988–2007
| Data Source | Age Groups (Sample Size) | Racial/Ethnic Groups | Measures of SES | Health-Related Indicators |
| Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data File, 2000–200246 | Maternal age ≥ 20 y (69 660 infant deaths among 10 742 652 live births) | Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, White (non-Hispanic) | Educational attainment (maternal)a | Infant mortality rate: number of infantdeaths before age 1 per 1000 live births |
| National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS), 1988–199847 | Age ≥ 25 y (448 360 persons and 2 590 796 person-years) | Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, White (non-Hispanic) | Family income as a percentage of educational attainmentb | Life expectancy at age 25, in years |
| National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), 2001–200548 | Age ≤ 17 y (n = 127 394), Age ≥ 25 y (n = 286 536) | Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, White (non-Hispanic) | Family income as a percentage of FPL, educational attainment (for child indicators, head of household; for adult indicators, individual)c | Respondent-assessed health status: percentage with “poor,” “fair,” or “good” health vs “very good” or “excellent” health (children) |
| Activity limitation: percentage with any activity limitation due to chronic disease (children and adults); | ||||
| Coronary heart disease: percentage who had ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that he or she had coronary heart disease, angina, a heart attack, or any other kind of heart condition or heart disease (adults) | ||||
| National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999–200449 | Age 2–19 y (n = 9066), Age 12–19 y (n = 7205), Age 20–64 y (n = 10 983), Age ≥ 20 y (n = 12 463) | Black (non-Hispanic), Mexican American, White (non-Hispanic) | Family income as a percentage of FPL, educational attainment (for child indicators, head of household; for adult indicators, individual)d | Healthy eating index (HEI) score (1999–2002 only): mean score for HEI, defined as the sum of equally weighted scores for 10 components (grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol, and variety), each ranging from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating healthier eating (ages 2–19); |
| Sedentary behavior: percentage without moderate or vigorous leisure-time physical activity for at least 10 min in the past 30 d (ages 12–19); | ||||
| Diabetes: percentage with fasting blood glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL or self-report of doctor or health professional diagnosis (men and nonpregnant women, ages 20–64); | ||||
| Obesity: percentage with body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2 (ages 20 and older) | ||||
| Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2005–200750 | Age 25–74 y (n = 914 669) | Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, American Indian or Alaskan Native (non-Hispanic), Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic), Asian (non-Hispanic), White (non-Hispanic) | Educational attainmente | Self-assessed health status: percentage with “poor,” “fair,” or “good” health vs “very good” or “excellent” health |
Note. FPL = federal poverty line.
Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data File: income data were not available. Education was measured as years of school completed by mother, grouped to correspond with earned educational credentials, as follows: 0–11 y, 12 y, 13–15 y, 16 or more years.
NLMS: family income was calculated as a percent of FPL, adjusted for family size and grouped as ≤ 100%, 101%–200%, 201%–400%, and > 400% (missing values were imputed). Education was measured as highest grade completed, grouped to correspond with earned educational credentials, as follows: did not graduate from high school, high school graduate, some college, college graduate or more.
NHIS: family income was calculated as a percent of FPL, adjusted for family size and grouped as < 100%, 100%–199%, 200%–299%, 300%–399%, and ≥ 400% (missing values were replaced with imputed data available through NCHS). Education was measured as highest level or degree completed, as follows: did not graduate from high school, high school graduate, some college, college graduate or more.
NHANES: family income was calculated as a percent of FPL, adjusted for family size and grouped as < 100%, 100%–199%, 200%–299%, 300%–399%, and ≥ 400% (missing values were excluded). Education was measured as highest grade or level of school completed or degree received, as follows: did not graduate from high school, high school graduate, some college, college graduate or more.
BRFSS: income was not examined because the income data in the BRFSS does not permit adequate measurement of household income as a percentage of FPL. Education was measured as highest grade or year completed, as follows: did not graduate from high school, high school graduate, some college, college graduate or more.