Table 2.
Relationship between socioeconomic status and respiratory measures
| References | Population (description and N) | Socioeconomic status measure(s) | Outcome measure(s) | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinder et al17 | General practices in UK (N=4,237) | Occupation of householder | Respiratory symptoms | Severity of respiratory symptoms worse in people with manual occupation in the presence of tobacco use |
| Shohami et al18 | Adults in UK attending general medical practices (N=22,675) | Occupation, education level, and area deprivation | Lung function impairment | Occupation, educational level, and living in area of deprivation associated with worse lung function |
| Welle et al19 | Norwegian general population survey (N=1,275) | Educational level | DLCO | DLCO related to education in men, not women |
| Schikowski et al20 | Germany (N=1,251, women only) | Education level, occupation, and residence | Lung function, respiratory symptoms, and air particulate matter | Low education more likely to suffer from low FEV1 and were occupationally exposed to particulate matter >10 ppm |
| Smith et al21 | Chinese population (never smokers) in ten regions (N=307,000) | Household income and education level | Prevalence of AO | AO associated with lower education and income |
| Kurmi et al22 | Cross-section of adults in ten diverse populations across China (N=500,000 adults) | Household annual income | Prevalence of AO and respiratory symptoms | AO inversely related to annual income |
| Liu et al23 | Cross-sectional survey in one US state (N=4,300 adults) | Education level | Prevalence of respiratory symptoms | Low educational level associated with higher frequency of respiratory symptoms, including frequent productive cough, dyspnea, and SOB affects ADLs |
Abbreviations: ADLs, activities of daily life; AO, airflow obstruction; DLCO, diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; ppm, parts per million; SOB, shortness of breath.