The effects of earlier income variation on mortality: an analysis of Norwegian register data

Individual and joint effect of socioeconomic status and lifestyle factors on cancer in Korea

BACKGROUND

There is limited evidence on the individual and joint effect of socioeconomic status (SES) and unhealthy lifestyle on cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of these factors on cancer incidence and mortality.

METHODS

In this population-based cohort study, income was used as the proxy of SES. A combined unhealthy lifestyle score was obtained using data on smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and body mass index. Hazard ratios were estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

The study included data on 8,353,169 participants (median follow-up period, 17 years). Although the association between low income and cancer incidence varied depending on cancer type, low income consistently increased the risk of cancer-related death with a social gradient. Unhealthy behaviors increased the risk of cancer incidence and mortality, except for thyroid and breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Compared with the wealthiest and healthiest individuals, the poorest and unhealthiest men and women showed 2.1-fold (2.05-2.14) and 1.36-fold (1.31-1.41) higher risk of cancer-related death, respectively. The joint effect was most robust for lung, liver, head, and neck cancers in men and liver and cervical cancers in women; further, the effect was stronger with cancer-specific mortality than with incidence.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, income and combined healthy lifestyle behaviors have individual and joint effects on cancer incidence and mortality. The effect varies by cancer type and sex.

Life-course income trajectories of men and women in Norway: implications for self-rated health in later life

BACKGROUND

Socioeconomic inequalities in health are well-established, but studies addressing lagged effects of income or of fluctuations in income over the life course are relatively rare. The current study aims to (i) identify and describe life-course income trajectories for men and women who are currently in later life; and (ii) assess the association of income trajectories with self-rated health in older adults.

METHODS

The study sample consisted of 1625 men and 1634 women born between 1937 and 1955 who participated in the third wave of the Norwegian Life course, Ageing and Generation Study. Latent class growth analyses were used to estimate dominant income trajectories from ages 30 through 62 in men and women. Stepwise logistic regression analyses were specified to analyze the association of income trajectories with self-rated health in later life.

RESULTS

Four trajectories in women and three trajectories in men were estimated as dominant patterns of income over the life course. Differences in the level of income were considerable at age 30 and accumulated over time. Continued exposure to low income showed statistically significant higher odds for poor self-rated health in older men and women. This association remained significant after taking differences in educational attainment, working life, family formation and accumulated wealth into account.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggested remarkable rigidity in income groups that had formed by age 30. A significant share of men and women remain mired in relatively low-income status across the life course with negative implications for health in later life.

The contribution of changes to tax and social security to stalled life expectancy trends in Scotland: a modelling study

BACKGROUND

Life expectancy (LE) improvements have stalled, and UK tax and welfare 'reforms' have been proposed as a cause. We estimated the effects of tax and welfare reforms from 2010/2011 to 2021/2022 on LE and inequalities in LE in Scotland.

METHODS

We applied a published estimate of the cumulative income impact of the reforms to the households within Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles. We estimated the impact on LE by applying a rate ratio for the impact of income on mortality rates (by age group, sex and SIMD quintile) and calculating the difference between inflation-only changes in benefits and the reforms.

RESULTS

We estimated that changes to household income resulting from the reforms would result in an additional 1041 (+3.7%) female deaths and 1013 (+3.8%) male deaths. These deaths represent an estimated reduction of female LE from 81.6 years to 81.2 years (-20 weeks), and male LE from 77.6 years to 77.2 years (-23 weeks). Cuts to benefits and tax credits were modelled to have the most detrimental impact on LE, and these were estimated to be most severe in the most deprived areas. The modelled impact on inequalities in LE was widening of the gap between the most and least deprived 20% of areas by a further 21 weeks for females and 23 weeks for males.

INTERPRETATION

This study provides further evidence that austerity, in the form of cuts to social security benefits, is likely to be an important cause of stalled LE across the UK.

Escaping and Falling into Poverty in India Today

The study examines the dynamic nature of movements into and out of poverty over a period when poverty has fallen substantially in India. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. Using panel data from the India Human Development Survey for 2005 and 2012, we find that the risks of marginalized communities such as Dalits and Adivasis of falling into or remaining in poverty were higher than those for more privileged groups. Some, but not all of these higher risks are explained by educational, financial, and social disadvantages of these groups in 2005. Results from a logistic regression show that some factors that help people escape poverty differ from those that push people into it and that the strength of their effects varies.