Skip to main content
NCBI home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1997 Sep;87(9):1476–1483. doi: 10.2105/ajph.87.9.1476

Income dynamics and adult mortality in the United States, 1972 through 1989.

P McDonough 1, G J Duncan 1, D Williams 1, J House 1
PMCID: PMC1380973  PMID: 9314800

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine relationships between income and mortality, focusing on the predictive utility of single-year and multiyear measures of income, the shape of the income gradient in mortality, trends in this gradient over time, the impact of income change on mortality, and the joint effects of income and age, race, and sex on mortality risk. METHODS: Data were taken from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for the years 1968 through 1989. Fourteen 10-year panels were constructed in which predictors were measured over the first 5 years and vital status over the subsequent 5 years. The panels were pooled and logistic regression was used in the analysis. RESULTS: Income level was a strong predictor of mortality, especially for persons under the age of 65 years. Persistent low income was particularly consequential for mortality. Income instability was also important among middle-income individuals. Single-year and multiyear income measures had comparable predictive power. All effects persisted after adjustment for education and initial health status. CONCLUSIONS: The issues of low income and income instability should be addressed in population health policy.

Full text

PDF
1476

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adler N. E., Boyce T., Chesney M. A., Cohen S., Folkman S., Kahn R. L., Syme S. L. Socioeconomic status and health. The challenge of the gradient. Am Psychol. 1994 Jan;49(1):15–24. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.49.1.15. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Adler N. E., Boyce W. T., Chesney M. A., Folkman S., Syme S. L. Socioeconomic inequalities in health. No easy solution. JAMA. 1993 Jun 23;269(24):3140–3145. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Backlund E., Sorlie P. D., Johnson N. J. The shape of the relationship between income and mortality in the United States. Evidence from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Ann Epidemiol. 1996 Jan;6(1):12–22. doi: 10.1016/1047-2797(95)00090-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Behrman J. R., Sickles R. C., Taubman P. Age-specific death rates with tobacco smoking and occupational activity: sensitivity to sample length, functional form, and unobserved frailty. Demography. 1990 May;27(2):267–284. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bucher H. C., Ragland D. R. Socioeconomic indicators and mortality from coronary heart disease and cancer: a 22-year follow-up of middle-aged men. Am J Public Health. 1995 Sep;85(9):1231–1236. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.9.1231. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Duleep H. O. Measuring socioeconomic mortality differentials over time. Demography. 1989 May;26(2):345–351. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Duncan G. J., Brooks-Gunn J., Klebanov P. K. Economic deprivation and early childhood development. Child Dev. 1994 Apr;65(2 Spec No):296–318. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Duncan G. J. Income dynamics and health. Int J Health Serv. 1996;26(3):419–444. doi: 10.2190/1KU0-4Y3K-ACFL-BYU7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Elo I. T., Preston S. H. Educational differentials in mortality: United States, 1979-85. Soc Sci Med. 1996 Jan;42(1):47–57. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(95)00062-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Feinstein J. S. The relationship between socioeconomic status and health: a review of the literature. Milbank Q. 1993;71(2):279–322. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Feldman J. J., Makuc D. M., Kleinman J. C., Cornoni-Huntley J. National trends in educational differentials in mortality. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 May;129(5):919–933. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115225. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. House J. S., Kessler R. C., Herzog A. R. Age, socioeconomic status, and health. Milbank Q. 1990;68(3):383–411. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kaplan G. A., Seeman T. E., Cohen R. D., Knudsen L. P., Guralnik J. Mortality among the elderly in the Alameda County Study: behavioral and demographic risk factors. Am J Public Health. 1987 Mar;77(3):307–312. doi: 10.2105/ajph.77.3.307. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kehrer B. H., Wolin C. M. Impact of income maintenance on low birth weight: evidence from the Gary Experiment. J Hum Resour. 1979 Fall;14(4):434–462. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kessler R. C., Neighbors H. W. A new perspective on the relationships among race, social class, and psychological distress. J Health Soc Behav. 1986 Jun;27(2):107–115. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Koskinen S., Martelin T. Why are socioeconomic mortality differences smaller among women than among men? Soc Sci Med. 1994 May;38(10):1385–1396. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90276-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kotler P., Wingard D. L. The effect of occupational, marital and parental roles on mortality: the Alameda County Study. Am J Public Health. 1989 May;79(5):607–612. doi: 10.2105/ajph.79.5.607. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Marmot M. G., McDowall M. E. Mortality decline and widening social inequalities. Lancet. 1986 Aug 2;2(8501):274–276. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(86)92085-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Marmot M. G., Smith G. D., Stansfeld S., Patel C., North F., Head J., White I., Brunner E., Feeney A. Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study. Lancet. 1991 Jun 8;337(8754):1387–1393. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)93068-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Miller J. E., Korenman S. Poverty and children's nutritional status in the United States. Am J Epidemiol. 1994 Aug 1;140(3):233–243. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117242. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Moore D. E., Hayward M. D. Occupational careers and mortality of elderly men. Demography. 1990 Feb;27(1):31–53. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Otten M. W., Jr, Teutsch S. M., Williamson D. F., Marks J. S. The effect of known risk factors on the excess mortality of black adults in the United States. JAMA. 1990 Feb 9;263(6):845–850. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Pappas G., Queen S., Hadden W., Fisher G. The increasing disparity in mortality between socioeconomic groups in the United States, 1960 and 1986. N Engl J Med. 1993 Jul 8;329(2):103–109. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199307083290207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Robert S., House J. S. SES differentials in health by age and alternative indicators of SES. J Aging Health. 1996 Aug;8(3):359–388. doi: 10.1177/089826439600800304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Rogers R. G. Living and dying in the U.S.A.: sociodemographic determinants of death among blacks and whites. Demography. 1992 May;29(2):287–303. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Sorlie P. D., Backlund E., Keller J. B. US mortality by economic, demographic, and social characteristics: the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Am J Public Health. 1995 Jul;85(7):949–956. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.7.949. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Ulbrich P. M., Warheit G. J., Zimmerman R. S. Race, socioeconomic status, and psychological distress: an examination of differential vulnerability. J Health Soc Behav. 1989 Mar;30(1):131–146. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Wilkinson R. G. Income distribution and life expectancy. BMJ. 1992 Jan 18;304(6820):165–168. doi: 10.1136/bmj.304.6820.165. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Wilkinson R. G. National mortality rates: the impact of inequality? Am J Public Health. 1992 Aug;82(8):1082–1084. doi: 10.2105/ajph.82.8.1082. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Williams D. R., Lavizzo-Mourey R., Warren R. C. The concept of race and health status in America. Public Health Rep. 1994 Jan-Feb;109(1):26–41. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Wolfson M., Rowe G., Gentleman J. F., Tomiak M. Career earnings and death: a longitudinal analysis of older Canadian men. J Gerontol. 1993 Jul;48(4):S167–S179. doi: 10.1093/geronj/48.4.s167. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES