Income Inequality and Self-Reported Health Among Older Adults in Brazil

Abstract

This study analyzes the association between income inequality and self-reported health (SRH) in older adults, and separately for the young-old and very-old groups, residing in each of the 27 Brazilian capitals. The sample consisted of 4,912 individuals aged 60 or older residing in Brazilian capitals in 2013. Bayesian multilevel models were applied to the whole sample and separately for individuals aged 60 to 79 (young-old), and 80 or more (very-old). Our results show significant associations between income inequality and SRH, even after controlling for individual and contextual factors. We found greater odds of poor SRH among older adults living in areas with medium (odds ratio [OR] = 1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.49–1.86) and high-income inequality (OR = 2.21, 95% CI: 2.05–2.38). The negative association between income inequality and health, independently of the individual and contextual characteristics, suggests that living in unequal areas can have a detrimental effect on the health of older adults.