Incorporating biomarkers into the study of socio-economic status and health among older adults in China.
Abstract
The social gradient in health - that individuals with lower SES have worse health
than those with higher SES- is welldocumented using self-reports of health in more
developed countries. Less is known about the relationship between SES and health biomarkers
among older adults residing in less developed countries. We use data from the ChineseLongitudinal
Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) longevity areas sub-sample to examine the social
gradient in healthamong rural young-old and oldest-old adults (N=2,121). Our health
indicators include individual biomarkers, metabolic syndrome, and self-reports of
health. We found a largely positive relationship between SES and health. SES was more
consistently associated with individual biomarkers among the oldest-old than the young-old,
providing evidence for cumulative disadvantage. We discuss the implications of our
findings for older adults who have lived through different social, economic, and health
regimes.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19428Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.ssmph.2017.07.003Publication Info
Brasher, Melanie Sereny; George, Linda K; Shi, Xiaoming; Yin, Zhaoxue; & Zeng, Yi (2017). Incorporating biomarkers into the study of socio-economic status and health among
older adults in China. SSM - population health, 3. pp. 577-585. 10.1016/j.ssmph.2017.07.003. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19428.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Linda K. George
Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Emeritus
My research falls into three broad areas: (1) social factors and the onset, course,
and outcome of mental and physical illness, (2) social factors and aging, and (3)
the organization and delivery of health services. I am working on funded research
projects in all three areas. I have been the principal and co-principal investigator
of two major epidemiologic studies. The first examines social factors and mental
illness throughout adulthood. The second focuses on social factors related to
Yi Zeng
Professor in Medicine
(1) Socioeconomic, behavior, environmental and genetic determinants of healthy aging
and healthy longevity; (2) Factors related to elderly disability and mental health;
(3) Methods of family households and elderly living arrangements forecasting/analysis
and their applications in health services and socioeconomic planning, and market studies;
(4) Policy analysis in population aging, social welfare, retirement, and fertility
transitions.
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