Socioeconomic status and health among older adults in rural and urban China.
OBJECTIVE
The association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health, which has proven to be quite robust, is rarely tested in societies where levels of economic development and systems of stratification differ from those in Western developed countries. This article examines associations in rural and urban China.


METHODS
Techniques include logit equation estimates of separate and pooled samples. The latter employ interaction terms to test rural and urban effects. Socioeconomic indicators include those more customarily used in these types of studies (e.g., education) and several that are less traditional (e.g., pension eligibility).


RESULTS
Results indicate associations exist in China. Bank savings is the strongest predictor. Some unexpected results are also found, including a positive association between socioeconomic status and chronic conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease) among older adults in urban China.


CONCLUSIONS
Use and access to a health care professional might explain part of this anomaly.
The Population Council, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, USA. zzimmer@popcouncil.org.
Zachary
Z
Zimmer
Julia
J
Kwong
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D012423:Rural Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health