title: The social class gradient in health in Spain and the health status of the Spanish Roma.
abstract: To determine the social class gradient in health in general Spain population and the health status of the Spanish Roma.
  
  
  
  The National Health Survey of Spanish Roma 2006 (sample size = 993 people; average age: 33.6 years; 53.1% women) and the National Health Surveys for Spain 2003 (sample size: 21,650 people; average age: 45.5 years; 51.2% women) and 2006 (sample size: 29,478 people; average age: 46 years; 50.7% women) are compared. Several indicators were chosen: self-perceived health, activity limitation, chronic diseases, hearing and sight problems, caries, and obesity. Analysis was based on age-standardised rates and logistic regression models.
  
  
  
  According to most indicators, Roma's health is worse than that of social class IV-V (manual workers). Some indicators show a remarkable difference between Roma and social class IV-V: experiencing three or more health problems, sight problems, and caries, in both sexes, and hearing problems and obesity, in women.
  
  
  
  Roma people are placed on an extreme position on the social gradient in health, a situation of extreme health inequality.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Sociology II , Interuniversity Institute of Social Development and Peace (WHO Collaborating Centre on Social Inclusion and Health), University of Alicante , Alicante , Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: La Parra Casado
authors.affiliation: b Public Health Research Group, Department of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine and Public Health and History of Science , University of Alicante , Alicante , Spain.|c CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP) , Madrid , Spain.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gil González
authors.affiliation: d Department of Health Psychology , University Miguel Hernández. Elche , Alicante , Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de la Torre Esteve
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D006178:Romani People / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012923:Social Class; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D014786:Vision Disorders; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Roma; Spain; ethnicity; health inequalities; social class