Robert S, House J S
University of California, Berkeley, USA.
J Aging Health. 1996 Aug;8(3):359-88. doi: 10.1177/089826439600800304.
Despite the general persistence and even increase of strong socioeconomic status (SES) differentials in health in the United States, research suggests that SES differentials in health may diminish or become nonexistent at older ages. However, most research has used only limited measures of SES (e.g. education, income), and has not thoroughly investigated intra-elderly age differences in this trend. The current study investigates how SES differentials in health vary by age in the United States, using fairly detailed age categories (through ages 85+), and 2 alternative indicators (home ownership and liquid assets) of a major additional dimension of SES, financial assets, which may be especially important at older ages. We address (a) how strongly financial assets are associated with health, considered both alone and net of education and income; (b) if the health effects of financial assets vary by age; and, more specifically, (c) if their effects are especially pronounced in older age, again considered both alone and net of or relative to education and income. Results show that financial assets, especially liquid assets, considered both alone and net of education and income, are associated with health throughout adulthood and old age, at least until ages 85+. Furthermore, financial assets remain associated with health until quite late in life and become more important relative to education and income at older ages for some measures of health.
尽管美国健康方面的强大社会经济地位（SES）差异普遍持续存在甚至有所增加，但研究表明，健康方面的SES差异在老年时可能会缩小或不存在。然而，大多数研究仅使用了有限的SES衡量指标（如教育程度、收入），且未对这一趋势中老年人内部的年龄差异进行全面调查。本研究使用相当详细的年龄类别（直至85岁及以上）以及SES一个主要附加维度——金融资产的两个替代指标（自有住房和流动资产），调查了美国健康方面的SES差异如何随年龄变化，金融资产在老年时可能尤为重要。我们探讨了：（a）金融资产与健康的关联程度，单独考虑以及在扣除教育和收入因素后的情况；（b）金融资产对健康的影响是否随年龄变化；更具体地说，（c）其影响在老年时是否尤其显著，同样单独考虑以及扣除或相对于教育和收入后的情况。结果表明，金融资产，尤其是流动资产，单独考虑以及扣除教育和收入因素后，在整个成年期和老年期都与健康相关，至少直到85岁及以上。此外，金融资产在生命后期仍与健康相关，并且对于某些健康指标而言，相对于教育和收入，在老年时变得更加重要。
