Deprivation and health risk indicators in full-time permanent workers.
BACKGROUND
Association between deprivation and health is well established, particularly among unemployed or fixed-term contract or temporary contract subjects. This study aimed to assess if this relationship existed as well in full-time permanent workers.


METHODS
Biometrical, biological, behavioural and psychosocial health risk indicators and an individual deprivation score, the Evaluation of Precarity and Inequalities in Health Examination Centres score, were recorded from January 2007 to June 2008, in 34 905 full-time permanent workers aged 18-70 years, all volunteers for a free health examination. Comparisons of the behavioural, metabolic, cardiovascular and health risk indicators between quintiles of the deprivation score with adjustments on age and socioeconomic categories were made by covariance analysis or logistic regression.


RESULTS
For both genders, degradation of nutritional behaviours, metabolic and cardiovascular indicators and health appeared gradually with deprivation, even for deprivation score usually considered as an insignificant value. The absence of only one social support or one social network was associated with a degradation of health. Full-time permanent workers with the poorest health risk indicators had more frequent social exclusion signs. These results were independent of socioeconomic categories and age.


CONCLUSIONS
Understanding how deprivation influences health status may lead to more effective interventions to reduce social inequalities in health. The deprivation Evaluation of Precarity and Inequalities in Health Examination Centres score is a relevant tool to detect subjects who could benefit from preventive interventions. Our findings suggest that this deprivation score should be used as a health risk indicator even in full-time permanent workers. Assessing deprivation is useful to design and evaluate specific intervention programmes.
1 IRSA, département Synergies, 37521 La Riche cedex, France gaelle.gusto@irsa.asso.fr.
Gaëlle
G
Gusto
1 IRSA, département Synergies, 37521 La Riche cedex, France.
Sylviane
S
Vol
2 CHRU Université François Rabelais, Médecine et Santé au travail, 37132 Tours cedex 01, France.
Gérard
G
Lasfargues
1 IRSA, département Synergies, 37521 La Riche cedex, France.
Christian
C
Guillaud
1 IRSA, département Synergies, 37521 La Riche cedex, France.
Olivier
O
Lantieri
1 IRSA, département Synergies, 37521 La Riche cedex, France.
Jean
J
Tichet
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011584:Psychology; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D011998:Recreation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult