[Socioeconomic inequalities in subjective health among 11- to 15-year-olds in Germany. A trend analysis from 2002-2010]

Abstract

Health is strongly linked to social position. Several studies showed consistent or increasing health inequalities in the last decades. So far, few studies focused on trends in social inequalities in health among children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to determine changes in socioeconomic differences in subjective health between 2002 and 2010 of 11- to 15-year-old students in Germany.Data were obtained from the German part of the cross-sectional WHO "Health Behaviour in School-aged Children" survey in 2002 (n=5.221), 2006 (n=6.896) and 2010 (n=4.723). Log binomial regression models were used to assess the extent of inequalities in self-rated health across the survey years. Socioeconomic position was measured using the family affluence scale (FAS) and perceived family wealth.A relatively small improvement in good/excellent self-rated health was observed in both boys and girls from 2002 (85.2%) to 2010 (87%). Despite this improvement, inequalities in self-rated health could be identified for all survey years, regardless of which socioeconomic indicator was used (RR 1.4 up to 1.8). The level of these differences remained virtually unchanged in girls and boys in that time period.The same relationship of family affluence, family wealth and self-rated health has persisted for almost a decade in Germany. Recent strategies could not tackle existing inequalities in self-rated health which indicates an increasing need to develop and implement innovative measures and to intensify efforts of social and health policy.