Table 1.
Summary table of reviewed papers (ordered by author)
| First author. Title. Year (Reference number) |
Setting, study population | Level of analysis: Individual=i Ecological=e Multilevel=m |
Measures of social status | Health outcome measure | How sex/gender addressed in methodology | SES gradient greater for men than women |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backhans. Does increased gender equality lead to a convergence of health outcomes for men and women? A study of Swedish municipalities. 2007 (9) |
Sweden Whole population 2000–2004 |
e | Gender equality measured as political participation Division of labor, employment proportions in typically segregated sectors, income ratios |
Life expectancy Sick days |
Sex-disaggregated linear regression including independent variables of gender equality | Yes |
| Bopp. Mortality by education in German speaking Switzerland, 1990–1997: results from the Swiss National Cohort. 2003 (10) |
Switzerland Approximately 75% of German–Swiss population Age 25+ 1990–1997 |
i | Education | Mortality | Sex-disaggregated mortality ratios and regressions | Yes |
| Borrell. Social class and self-reported health status among men and women: what is the role of work organization, household material standards and household labour? 2004 (11) |
Barcelona N=2,345 (m), 1,874 (w) Age 16–64 2000 |
i | Occupation, social class, psychological and physical working conditions, job insecurity, hours worked, home amenities, household labor | Self-rated health | Sex-disaggregated logistic regression | Yes for all measures of SES except household labor |
| Deguen. A small-area ecologic study of myocardial infarction, neighborhood deprivation, and sex. 2010 (12) |
Strasbourg N=1,193 Age 35–74 |
e | Neighborhood deprivation index (income, education, job, housing, family structure, immigrants) | Myocardial infarction | Interaction terms of sexx deprivation index | No, SES gradient greater for women |
| Drever. Exploring the relation between class, gender, and self rated general health using the new socioeconomic classification. A study using data from the 2001 census. 2004 (13) |
Britain N=30.3 million Age 25–64 |
i | Multiple aspects of employment | Self-rated health | Sex-disaggregated rates of levels of SRH for levels of socio-economic position | Yes |
| Eriksson. The importance of gender and conceptualization for understanding the association between collective social capital and health: a multilevel analysis from northern Sweden. 2011 (14) |
Sweden N=3,225 (w) 2,543 (m). Age 18–84 |
m | Neighborhood social capital Individual social capital Individual socio-demographics: age, education, income, marital status, children at home, country of birth |
Self-rated health | Sex-disaggregated multilevel analyses | No, SES gradient greater for women |
| Ferrie. Self-reported job insecurity and health in the Whitehall II study: potential explanations of the relationship. 2005 (15) |
Britain N=2,145 (w), 5,052 (m) |
i | Job security Education, marital status, material deprivation, psychological status, job satisfaction and control, alcohol, smoking |
Self-rated health Long-standing illness Minor psychiatric morbidity |
Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | No, SES gradient greater for women |
| Huisman. Educational inequalities in cause-specific mortality in middle-aged and older men and women in eight western European populations. 2005 (16) |
Europe 51 million person years, all deaths 1990–1997 |
i | Education level | Cause-specific mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression | Yes |
| Kawachi. Women's status and the health of women and men: a view from the States. 1999 (17) |
US Census population 1990s | e | Gender equality index (women's political participation, economic autonomy, employment/earnings, reproductive rights) income inequality, poverty rate, median household income | Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes for all indicators except reproductive rights |
| Kelleher. Socio-demographic predictors of self-rated health in the Republic of Ireland: findings from the National Survey on Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition, SLAN. 2003 (18) |
Ireland N=6,539 |
m | Neighborhood deprivation index Individual data: age, marital status, education, household occupation class, household size, marital status, housing, rurality, smoking, disease diagnosis |
Self-rated health | Sex-disaggregated multilevel analyses | Yes |
| Kopp. Low economic status of the opposite sex is a risk factor for middle aged mortality. 2005 (19) |
Hungary Population sample by 150 regions Age 18+ |
e | Subjective social position (women), average education, average income | Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes |
| Koskinen. Why are socioeconomic mortality differences smaller among women than men? 1994 (20) |
Finland, census 1980 Age 35–64 |
i | Education, occupation, housing density, dwelling standard, marital status, area of residence | Cause-specific mortality | Sex-disaggregated mortality differences, interactions | Yes |
| Ljung. Socioeconomic differences in the burden of disease in Sweden. 2005 (21) |
Sweden Whole population Age 15–84 |
i | Occupation, Disease | DALYs | Sex-disaggregated regression | Yes |
| Mackenbach. Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality among women and among men: an international study. 1999 (22) |
US, Finland, Norway, Italy Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia 1980–1990 N – not reported |
i | Education, age, race/ethnicity (for US only) | Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes for all outcomes except cardiovascular diseasesome variation by country |
| Mackenbach. Socioeconomic inequalities in health in 22 European countries. 2008 (23) |
Europe, whole population Age 30–69 1990–2000 |
i | Education, occupation, income age, self-rated health, smoking, obesity | Cause-specific mortality | Sex-disaggregated data | Yes for all outcomes except cardiovascular mortality |
| Major. Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and mortality: NIH-AARP diet and health study. 2010 (24) |
US N=556,402, (33,831 deaths) Age 50–80 1995–2005 |
m | Neighborhood deprivation index Individual data: dietary intake, activity, medical history, BMI |
Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regressions and multi-level analyses | Yes |
| Malyutina. Education, marital status, and total and cardiovascular mortality in Novosibirsk, Russia: a prospective cohort study. 2004 (25) |
Russia Random sample N=6,485 (m) 4,919 (w) Age 25–64 in 1984 |
i | Education, marital status, age, smoking, blood pressure, BMI, alcohol, cholesterol | All-cause mortality |
Sex-disaggregated regressions | No, SES gradient greater for women but non-linear |
| Martikainen. Income differences in mortality: a register-based follow-up study of three million men and women. 2001 (26) | Finland N=261,000 deaths Age>30 1991–1996 |
i | Household income Household employment, marital status, education, economic activity, spouse's SES |
Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regressions | Yes |
| Meijer. Do neighborhoods affect individual mortality? A systematic review and meta-analysis of multilevel studies. 2012 (27) |
Systematic review, developed countries Before 2010 |
m | Area indicators of social cohesion, income inequality, social capital Individual SES measures |
Mortality | Unclear – controlled for sex in some analyses | Yes |
| Muntaner. The associations of social class and social stratification with patterns of general and mental health in a Spanish population. 2003 (28) |
Barcelona N=4,218 Age 16–64 2000 |
i | Ownership and control of productive assets, social stratification, education | Self-rated health Mental health (GHQ) |
Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes but non-linear and limited significance for either |
| Naess. Childhood and adulthood socioeconomic position across 20 causes of death: a prospective cohort study of 800,000 Norwegian men and women. 2007 (29) |
Norway N=79,534 Age 0–20 in 1960 1990–2001 |
i | Parents’ occupation, household income | Cause-specific mortality | Sex-disaggregated regressions | Yes |
| Nicholson. Socio-economic influences on SRH in Russian men and women – a life course approach. 2005 (30) |
Russia Random sample N=1,004 (m), 1,930 (w) Age>50 2002 |
i | Childhood adversity, education, perceived class, household income, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking |
Self-rated health | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes |
| Perel. Household wealth and the metabolic syndrome in the Whitehall II Study. 2006 (31) |
Britain N=1,509 (w), 4,090 (m) Age 45–68 |
i | Household income, own income household wealth, marital status, education level, father's occupation, household size |
Metabolic syndrome | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | No, SES gradient greater for women |
| Phillips. Relative health effects of education, socioeconomic status and domestic gender inequity in Sweden: a cohort study. 2011 (32) |
Sweden N=773 Age=42 2007 |
i | Education financial strain domestic equality | Self-rated health | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes for domestic equality, but reversed for financial strain and education |
| Rey. Ecological association between a deprivation index and mortality in France over the period 1997–2001: variations with spatial scale, degree of urbanicity, age, gender and cause of death. 2009 (33) |
France Census population 1997–2001 |
e | Neighborhood deprivation index, urbanicity, Townsend index, Carstairs index | Mortality | Sex-disaggregated mortality differentials | Yes |
| Roberts. Macro-level gender equality and alcohol consumption: a multilevel analysis across U.S. States. 2012 (34) |
US N=200,000 2005 |
m | Area gender equality indices×5 (women's SES, gender equality in SES, political participation, reproductive rights, violence policies) Area: income and income inequality, median income, religion, Individual: age, race, income, marital status, education, employment | Alcohol consumption | Sex-disaggregated multilevel and multiple analyses | Greater equity associated with decreased drinking for men and women |
| Sacker. Comparing health inequality in men and women: prospective study of mortality 1986–96. 2000 (35) |
Britain N=235,083 Age 16–65 (m), 16–60 (w) |
i | Household social position, occupation | Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes for occupation but women's SES gradient exceeds men's for household position |
| Saurel-Cubizolles. Social inequalities in mortality by cause among men and women in France. 2009 (36) |
France N=104,109 (men), 109,765 (women) Age 30–64 (as of 1990) |
i | Education, occupation | All-cause mortality Cancer mortality Injury mortality Cardiovascular mortality |
Sex-disaggregated data | Yes except for cardiovascular mortality where women's SES gradient exceeds men's |
| Seubsman. Gender, socioeconomic status, and self-rated health in a transitional middle-income setting: evidence from Thailand. 2011 (37) |
Thailand N=87,134 Median Age=29 2005 |
i | Education, individual income, household assets, occupation marital status, urbanicity | Self-rated health | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes |
| Singh. Area, deprivation and widening inequalities in US mortality,
1969–1998. 2003 (38) |
US Census population 1969–1998 | e | Deprivation index | Mortality | Sex-disaggregated, multiple methods | Yes |
| Smith. Individual social class, area-based deprivation, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and mortality: the Renfrew and Paisley study. 1998 (39) |
Scotland N=6,961 (men), 7,991 (women) Age 25–64 in 1972 | m | Carstairs deprivation index (1972) Individual or husband's occupation (1972) Measures of personal health |
CVD mortality All-cause mortality | Sex-disaggregated, multiple methods | Yes |
| Steenland. All-cause and cause-specific mortality by socioeconomic status among employed persons in 27 US states, 1984–1997. 2004 (40) |
US Age 35–64 1984–1997 |
i | Occupation | Cause-specific mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes |
| Stjarne. Socioeconomic context in area of living and risk of myocardial infarction: results from Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program (SHEEP). 2002 (41) |
Sweden N=Stockholm population Age 45–70 1992–1994 |
m | Neighborhood deprivation index Individual data: occupation, education, employment, marital status, birth country |
Myocardial infarction | Sex-stratified multilevel regressions | No, women's SES gradient exceeds men's |
| Stringhini. Socioeconomic status, structural and functional measures of | Britain, Whitehall II N=6,895 (men), 3,413 |
i | Social support, Marital status |
Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes |
| social support, and mortality. 2012 (42) |
(women) Age 35–55 in 1985–1988 |
i | Social connectedness Occupation 1985–1988 |
Mortality | Sex-disaggregated regression analyses | Yes |
| Thurston. Is the association between socioeconomic position and coronary heart disease stronger in women than men? 2005 (43) |
US NHANEs, N=2,750 (men), 3,275 (women) Age 25–74 (in 1971–1974) |
i | Education, household income, single parent, employment, depression, smoker, alcohol use, physical activity, hypertension, diabetes, BMI, cholesterol, race | Coronary heart disease | Sex-disaggregation of multiple methods | No, women's SES gradient exceeds men's |
| Thurston. Women, loneliness, and incident coronary heart disease. 2009 (44) |
US NHANEs, N=1,150 (men), 1,466 (women) Age 25–74 (in 1971–1974) |
i | Education, household income, loneliness, marital status, employment, depression, smoker, alcohol use, physical activity, hypertension, diabetes, BMI, race | Coronary heart disease | Sex-disaggregation of multiple methods | No, women's SES gradient exceeds men's |