[Inequalities in health according to social class in Catalonia, 1994].
OBJECTIVE
To study social inequalities in health in Catalonia.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the population of Catalonia, Spain (Catalan Health Interview Survey, 1994).


METHODS
Responses from 5641 males and 6604 women aged 15 years or over were included for analysis.


RESULTS
We analysed the information about self-perceived health, restriction of activity, and presence of chronic conditions according to social class by means of logistic regression models. The proportion of subjects that rated their health as fair or poor was higher in social classes IV-V than in classes I-II (men: 25.0% vs. 14.5%; OR, 1.8, 95% CI, 1.5-2.3; women: 34.4% vs. 21.5%; OR, 1.7, 95% CI, 1.4-2.1). There were differences by social class in respect to restriction of activity and presence of chronic conditions.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the decrease of social inequalities in accesibility and use of health services due to the universalisation of health coverage, differences by social class remain in the perception of health status. These inequalities should be addressed by the health system within the framework of broad public and social policies.
Fernández
E
E
Institut Universitari de Salut Pública de Catalunya, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona. efernandez@bell.ub.es
Schiaffino
A
A
Rajmil
L
L
Borrell
C
C
García
M
M
Segura
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012923:Social Class; D013030:Spain
Desigualdades en salud según la clase social en Cataluña, 1994.