title: Assessment of the ecological bias of seven aggregate social deprivation indices.
abstract: In aggregate studies, ecological indices are used to study the influence of socioeconomic status on health. Their main limitation is ecological bias. This study assesses the misclassification of individual socioeconomic status in seven ecological indices.
  
  
  
  Individual socioeconomic data for a random sample of 10,000 persons came from periodic health examinations conducted in 2006 in 11 French departments. Geographical data came from the 2007 census at the lowest geographical level available in France. The Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves, the areas under the curves (AUC) for each individual variable, and the distribution of deprived and non-deprived persons in quintiles of each aggregate score were analyzed.
  
  
  
  The aggregate indices studied are quite good "proxies" for individual deprivation (AUC close to 0.7), and they have similar performance. The indices are more efficient at measuring individual income than education or occupational category and are suitable for measuring of deprivation but not affluence.
  
  
  
  The study inventoried the aggregate indices available in France and evaluated their assessment of individual SES.
authors.affiliation: "Cancers & Préventions" U1086 INSERM-UCN, Centre François Baclesse, Avenue Général Harris, 14076, Caen, France. josephine.bryere@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Josephine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bryere
authors.affiliation: "Cancers & Préventions" U1086 INSERM-UCN, Centre François Baclesse, Avenue Général Harris, 14076, Caen, France.|Pôle recherche, CHU de Caen, Avenue de la Côte de Nacre, 14033, Caen, France.|Université de Caen Normandie, Esplanade de la paix, 14000, Caen, France.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pornet
authors.affiliation: IRSA, 45 rue de la Parmentière, 37521, La Riche, Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Nane
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Copin
authors.affiliation: "Cancers & Préventions" U1086 INSERM-UCN, Centre François Baclesse, Avenue Général Harris, 14076, Caen, France.|Centre François Baclesse, Avenue Général Harris, 14076, Caen, France.
authors.forename: Ludivine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Launay
authors.affiliation: IRSA, 45 rue de la Parmentière, 37521, La Riche, Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Gaëlle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gusto
authors.affiliation: UMR 1027 INSERM, Faculté de médecine, 37 allée Jules Guesde, 31073, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grosclaude
authors.affiliation: UMR 1027 INSERM, Faculté de médecine, 37 allée Jules Guesde, 31073, Toulouse, France.|Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Cyrille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delpierre
authors.affiliation: UMR 1027 INSERM, Faculté de médecine, 37 allée Jules Guesde, 31073, Toulouse, France.|Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: IRSA, 45 rue de la Parmentière, 37521, La Riche, Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lantieri
authors.affiliation: "Cancers & Préventions" U1086 INSERM-UCN, Centre François Baclesse, Avenue Général Harris, 14076, Caen, France.|Pôle recherche, CHU de Caen, Avenue de la Côte de Nacre, 14033, Caen, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dejardin
authors.affiliation: "Cancers & Préventions" U1086 INSERM-UCN, Centre François Baclesse, Avenue Général Harris, 14076, Caen, France.|Pôle recherche, CHU de Caen, Avenue de la Côte de Nacre, 14033, Caen, France.|Université de Caen Normandie, Esplanade de la paix, 14000, Caen, France.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Launoy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015982:Bias; D019352:Censuses; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011203:Poverty; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Aggregate-level; Ecological social deprivation indices; Individual-level; Social inequalities in health