title: Association between area-level socioeconomic deprivation and a cluster of behavioural risk factors: cross-sectional, population-based study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Commission on Social Determinants of Health has urged governments across the world to promote health equity by reducing the gap between the most and least deprived individuals in society. Some of this gap can be bridged by promoting healthy lifestyles through targeted Public Health policy and interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses of data on behavioural risk factors, individual socioeconomic factors and neighbourhood deprivation score collected from 26 290 adults aged over 16 years who participated in the 2008 East of England Lifestyle Survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjustment for individual socioeconomic factors, across quintiles of increasing neighbourhood deprivation, participants were more likely to smoke and less likely to consume five portions of fruit and vegetables on five or more days of the week (least deprived versus most deprived quintile: odds ratios for not smoking 0.45 (0.41-0.50); and fruit and vegetable consumption 0.70 (0.64-0.76), P-trend <0.0001). Greater neighbourhood deprivation and lower occupational social class were independently associated with a lower summary healthy lifestyle score (both P-trend <0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Public health interventions aimed at reducing health inequalities by targeting behavioural risk factors may focus in particular on reducing smoking and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in more deprived communities.
authors.affiliation: MRC Epidemiology Unit, Addenbrookes Hospital, Box 285, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK. rl284@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Rajalakshmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lakshman
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McConville
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: How
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Flowers
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wareham
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cosford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D015438:Health Behavior; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008019:Life Style; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult