Table 3.
Socioeconomic inequalities in child health measures, and changes in these over childhood
| Outcome | Age (years) at first measure | Gender | N | Inequality by maternal education at baseline (first age of assessment) | Change in inequality with each year of age | p for gender differences | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SII (95% CI) | p Value | Interaction with age (95% CI) | p Value | |||||
| Overall parent-assessed health | 0 | Combined | 10663 | 0.07 (−0.004 to 0.14) | 0.07 | −0.01 (−0.01 to 0.003) | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| Height | 0 | Combined | 11463 | 0.15 (0.09 to 0.22) | <0.001 | 0.01 (0.004 to 0.02) | 0.002 | 0.7 |
| Total fat-mass | 9 | Male | 3799 | −0.8 (−0.20 to 0.04) | 0.2 | 0.001 (−0.02 to 0.02) | 0.9 | 0.004 |
| 9 | Female | 3843 | −0.29 (−0.41 to −0.17) | <0.001 | −0.01 (−0.03 to 0.003) | 0.1 | ||
| Cholesterol | 9 | Combined | 5560 | −0.12 (−0.23 to −0.02) | 0.02 | 0.02 (−0.001 to 0.04) | 0.06 | 0.8 |
| Triglycerides | 9 | Combined | 5560 | 0.02 (−0.08 to 0.13) | 0.7 | −0.004 (−0.03 to 0.02) | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| HDL cholesterol | 9 | Male | 2803 | −0.10 (−0.24 to 0.04) | 0.2 | 0.01 (−0.01 to 0.04) | 0.3 | 0.02 |
| 9 | Female | 2757 | 0.10 (−0.05 to 0.25) | 0.2 | 0.02 (−0.004 to 0.05) | 0.09 | ||
| CRP | 9 | Male | 2803 | −0.03 (−0.18 to 0.12) | 0.7 | 0.001 (−0.04 to 0.04) | 1.0 | 0.002 |
| 9 | Female | 2757 | −0.24 (−0.39 to −0.08) | 0.003 | −0.03 (−0.07 to 0.01) | 0.1 | ||
| SBP | 7 | Combined | 8488 | −0.28 (−0.35 to −0.20) | <0.001 | 0.03 (0.01 to 0.04) | <0.001 | 0.4 |
| DBP | 7 | Combined | 8487 | −0.24 (−0.31 to −0.16) | <0.001 | 0.02 (0.01 to 0.04) | 0.01 | 0.3 |
| BMD | 9 | Combined | 7642 | 0.12 (0.03 to 0.20) | 0.007 | −0.01 (−0.03 to −0.002) | 0.02 | 0.2 |
SII represents the mean difference in SDs of the outcome between the individuals with the hypothetical highest and lowest maternal education at baseline (intercept)—that is, at the first age at which outcomes were assessed. The interaction with age coefficient represents the additional change in SDs of the outcome between the hypothetical highest and lowest SEP for every 1 year increase in the child's age. 95% CIs are calculated using robust SEs. Results are adjusted for the child's exact age in weeks at the time of outcome measurement and the child's gender. Fat-mass is additionally adjusted for height and height squared.
BMD, bone mineral density; CRP, C-reactive protein; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HDL, high density lipoprotein; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SEP, socioeconomic position; SII, slope index of inequality.