title: Absolute and relative educational inequalities in obesity among adults in Tehran: Findings from the Urban HEART study-2.
abstract: The prevalence of obesity is increasing in Iran. Previous studies showed mixed results in relation to association between socioeconomic status and obesity in the country. The current study aimed to examine educational inequalities among adults in Tehran in 2011.
  
  
  
  Data on 90,435 persons 18 years and older from Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART-2) were analyzed. The Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and the Relative Index of Inequality (RII) were used for assessing educational inequalities in obesity. These measures were quantified using generalized linear models for the binomial family adjusted for sex and age. Subgroup analysis was conducted across sex, age groups and the 22 districts of Tehran.
  
  
  
  Both SII and RII showed substantial educational inequalities in obesity in favour of more educated adults [RII and SII (95% CI were equal to 2.91 (2.71-3.11) and 0.12 (0.12-0.13)), respectively]. These educational inequalities were persistent even after adjusting for employment, marital status and smoking. Subgroup analysis revealed that educational inequalities were more profound among women. While among men educational inequalities were generally increasing with age, an inverse trend was observed among women. Educational inequalities were observed within all 22 districts of Tehran and generally there were no statistically significant differences between districts.
  
  
  
  An inverse association between education and obesity was observed in the current study. To decrease educational inequalities in Tehran, priority should be given to younger women and older men. Further analyses are needed to explain these inequalities.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Orthopaedics, Department of Clinical Sciences-Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Research Center for Health Services Management, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. Electronic address: aliasghar.ahmad_kiadaliri@med.lu.se.
authors.forename: Aliasghar A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kiadaliri
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Oncopathology Research Centre, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: asadilari@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asadi-Lari
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Nutrition, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: nkalantari1334@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kalantari
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management, School of Health Management, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: mejafaris@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: vaezmahdavi@shahed.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Vaez Mahdavi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Electronic address: faghihz@modares.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Soghrat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faghihzadeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Educational inequality; Generalized linear model; Iran; Obesity; Urban-HEART