Box A7.2: Measures of socio-economic status that are important determinants of health

Socio-economic status can be measured through a number of variables (Galobardes et al. 2006) including: [7]

• Income (individual or aggregated). Income influences health through a direct effect on material resources. Income is the best single indicator of material living standards. However, the collection of income data can be limited due to the sensitive nature of such information.
• Education levels (individual assets). Education is a strong determinant of future employment and income and it may affect a person’s cognitive functioning. Information on education levels is easy to measure. However, these measures do not generally assess the quality of education.
• Occupation-based measures. Occupation is strongly related to income. Further, occupational class reflects social standing and may be related to health outcomes. Occupations may also reflect specific toxic environmental or work-task hazard exposures. Information on occupational measures is easily available in many routine data sources.