Socio-economic differences in health and mortality later in life

There is abundant evidence of a large association between many measures of socio-economic status, including income and education, and a variety of health measures later in life. Understanding the complex relationship between these socio-economic measures and health and mortality is critical for the development of strategies for improving population health – especially in an ageing society. However, the mechanisms and pathways by which differences in socio-economic status lead to different health outcomes later in life are largely unknown. These strong associations do not, however, necessarily imply causation. Indeed, the association between health and socio-economic status may be explained partially by selection on confounding factors, such as intelligence and parental background, which affect both the socio-economic status and health later in life. The main aim of this project is to estimate the causal effect of socio-economic status and its implied behavioral process on health and mortality later in life, accounting for selection issues both early and later in life.

Share
KNAW Logo
Cookie consent
This website makes use of third party cookies for traffic analysis. Privacy statement.