Suchday Sonia, Chhabra Rosy, Wylie-Rosett Judith, Almeida Maureen
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Institute of Public Health Sciences of Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Ethn Dis. 2008 Spring;18(2 Suppl 2):S2-235-7.
The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health changes as a society develops. In developed countries, high SES is associated with better health, but in developing countries, high SES is associated with poorer health. However, measuring SES is difficult in countries like India, where the traditional class and caste system are interwoven and complex. The current study explored the relationship between subjective and objective indices of SES and between SES and the metabolic syndrome among Asian Indians residing in Mumbai, India. Participants were a subset of young adults (N = 112, median age 19 years, 24% male) who were part of larger study assessing psychosocial correlates of the metabolic syndrome. SES was assessed through objective (father's education) and subjective (SES ladder) indices. Data indicated that high subjective SES was correlated with fasting blood sugar (r = .28, P < .003), and father's education was correlated with high cholesterol (r = .32, P < .005). Subjective and objective indices of SES were also correlated with each other (r = .24, P < .04). These data reiterate that the link between SES and health is obvious from an early age, regardless of the measures used to assess SES. Given the complexity of assessing SES in developing countries, objective subjective indices should be used in assessing SES.
社会经济地位（SES）与健康之间的关系会随着社会发展而变化。在发达国家，高社会经济地位与更好的健康状况相关，但在发展中国家，高社会经济地位与较差的健康状况相关。然而，在像印度这样的国家，衡量社会经济地位很困难，因为其传统的阶级和种姓制度相互交织且复杂。当前的研究探讨了印度孟买亚洲印度人社会经济地位的主观和客观指标之间的关系，以及社会经济地位与代谢综合征之间的关系。参与者是年轻成年人的一个子集（N = 112，中位年龄19岁，24%为男性），他们是一项评估代谢综合征心理社会相关因素的更大规模研究的一部分。通过客观指标（父亲的教育程度）和主观指标（社会经济地位阶梯）来评估社会经济地位。数据表明，高主观社会经济地位与空腹血糖相关（r = .28，P < .003），父亲的教育程度与高胆固醇相关（r = .32，P < .005）。社会经济地位的主观和客观指标之间也相互关联（r = .24，P < .04）。这些数据重申，无论用于评估社会经济地位的指标如何，社会经济地位与健康之间的联系从早年就很明显。鉴于在发展中国家评估社会经济地位的复杂性，在评估社会经济地位时应使用客观和主观指标。
