An exploration of the socioeconomic status - health status gradient in Ontario: Results from the 1990 and 1996 Ontario Health Surveys

Data from the 1990 and 1996 Ontario Health Surveys are used to model the association between SES (income and education) and health status (the Health Utilities Index, Self-rated Health Status and Activity Restriction) in 1990 and 1996. The associations are first examined for each year separately and then an interaction analysis is done to determine whether there was a change in the overall association over time. The study found a positive association between SES and health status---health status increased with increasing SES---overall and for most subgroups. Results of the interaction analysis varied among health status measures. Significant interaction was found between year, income and the HUI, indicating that the slope of the gradient in the HUI by income changed from 1990 to 1996. This is primarily due to a drop in HUI among those with low incomes, and may be related to the recession of 1991--93.