Developing a Socioeconomic Status Index for Chronic Disease Prevention Research in Canada

Elham Khodayari Moez, Katerina Maximova, Shannon Sim, Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan and Roman Pabayo
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Elham Khodayari Moez: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-300 ECHA, 11405 87 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Katerina Maximova: MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, 209 Victoria St, Toronto, ON M5B 1T8, Canada
Shannon Sim: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-300 ECHA, 11405 87 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-300 ECHA, 11405 87 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada
Roman Pabayo: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-300 ECHA, 11405 87 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-13

Abstract: Capturing socioeconomic inequalities in relation to chronic disease is challenging since socioeconomic status (SES) encompasses many aspects. We constructed a comprehensive individual-level SES index based on a broad set of social and demographic indicators (gender, education, income adequacy, occupational prestige, employment status) and examined its relationship with smoking, a leading chronic disease risk factor. Analyses were based on baseline data from 17,371 participants of Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP), a prospective cohort of adults aged 35–69 years with no prior personal history of cancer. To construct the SES index, we used principal component analysis (PCA) and to illustrate its utility, we examined the association with smoking intensity and smoking history using multiple regression models, adjusted for age and gender. Two components were retained from PCA, which explained 61% of the variation. The SES index was best aligned with educational attainment and occupational prestige, and to a lesser extent, with income adequacy. In the multiple regression analysis, the SES index was negatively associated with smoking intensity ( p < 0.001). Study findings highlight the potential of using individual-level SES indices constructed from a broad set of social and demographic indicators in epidemiological research.

Keywords: chronic disease prevention; socioeconomic status; index; smoking; Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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