Ward, JL;
Viner, RM;
(2018)
Investigating equalisation of health inequalities during adolescence in four low-income and middle-income countries: an analysis of the Young Lives cohort study.
BMJ Open
, 8
(9)
, Article 022114. 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022114.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate if socioeconomic gradients in health reduce during adolescence (the equalisation hypothesis) in four low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC). SETTING: Analysis of the Young Lives Study cohorts in Ethiopia, Peru, Vietnam and India. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3395 participants (across the four cohorts) aged 6–10 years at enrolment and followed up for 11 years. OUTCOME MEASURED: Change in income-related health inequalities from mid-childhood to late adolescence. Socioeconomic status was determined by wealth index quartile. The health indicators included were self-reported health, injuries in the previous 4 years, presence of long-term health problems, low mood, alcohol use, overweight/obesity, thinness and stunting. The relative risk of each adverse health outcome between highest and lowest wealth index quartile were compared across four waves of the study within each country. RESULTS: We found steep socioeconomic gradients across multiple health indicators in all four countries. Socioeconomic gradients remained similar across all waves of the study, with no significant decrease during adolescence. CONCLUSION: We found no consistent evidence of equalisation for income-related health inequalities in youth in these LMIC. Socioeconomic gradients for health in these cohorts appear to persist and be equally damaging across the early life course and during adolescence.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Investigating equalisation of health inequalities during adolescence in four low-income and middle-income countries: an analysis of the Young Lives cohort study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022114 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022114 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10063708 |
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