Socio-economic position and subjective health and well-being among older people in Europe: a systematic narrative review

Figures & data

Table 1. Search words for the literature search on health inequalities.

Search limitation	Search words^1
Subjective health and well-being	Subjective health, self-rated health, life satisfaction, quality of life, well-being
Inequalities	Inequality, disparity, education, socio-economic, wealth, income, financial assets, housing tenure, car owner, deprivation, occupational class, social class
Europe	Europe, Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark , Estonia, Finland , France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslav Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Age of population	age 60+, ageing, elderly, older people
Year of publication	1995–current (October 2013)
Type of publication	Article

¹ Searches allowed terms with synonyms to be included. Difference in the US and English spelling and different alternatives for the search words were taken into account in the searches.

Figure 1. Results of the search and screening.

Table 2. Characteristics of studies included, outcome measure: self-rated health.

Author(s), year	Survey year (waves)	Location	Sample – total	Sample –review	Age–total	Age – review	Inequality measure^1	COV^2	Stratified analysis^3
Alwan et al. (2007)	2001(1)	Sheffield, UK	N/A	N/A	50+	65+	Four area deprivation measures	A	Age
Araujo, Ramos, and Lopes (2011)	2007(1)	Porto and Vinhais, Portugal	463	463	60+	60+	Education	–	–
Bambra et al. (2010)	2002–2006(1)	17 European countries	85,514	9938	15+	61+	Education	B	Sex
Christelis, Jappelli, Paccagnella, and Weber (2009)	2004(1)	11 European countries	9145	9145	65+	65+	Net worth-income	–	–
Connolly et al. (2010)	2001(1)	Northern Ireland	191,848	191,848	65+	65+	Housing tenure, house value	ABC	Sex, age
Dalstra et al. (2006)	1991–1999(1)	10 European countries	43,479	43,479	60–79	60–79	Housing tenure, income, education	ABC	Sex
Damian et al. (1999)	1994–1995(1)	Madrid, Spain	677	677	65+	65+	Social class	ABE	Sex, age
Enroth et al. (2013)	2010(1)	Tampere, Finland	1283	1283	90–107	90–107	Occupation, education	AB	Sex
Fernandez-Martinez et al. (2012)	2008(1)	Spain	1106	1106	60–96	60–96	Education, financial position	ABCE	–
Giron (2012)	2006(1)	Spain	7835	7835	65+	65+	Education, income, social class	ACDE	–
Gonzalo and Pasarin (2004)	1997–1999(1)	Spain	1072	1072	65+	65+	Social class	B	Sex
Grigoriev and Grigorieva (2011)^4	1996–2007(1)	Belarus	43,732	3838	20+	60+	Education, income, living standards	ABCDE	–
Grundy and Holt (2000)	1994(1)	Great Britain	2247	2247	60–75	60–75	Education, income, social class, housing tenure, life course unemployment	ABC	Sex
Grundy and Sloggett (2003)	1993–1995(1)	England	8672	8672	65–84	65–84	Education, income support, housing tenure	ABCDF	Sex
Huijts et al. (2010)	2002–2006(1)	4 Nordic countries	17,801	3578	25+	65+	Income	BC	Sex
Huisman et al. (2003)	1994(1)	11 European countries	31,350	31,350	60+	60+	Education, income	AB	Sex, age
Karlsdotter et al. (2011)	2007(1)	Spain	6259	6259	65–80	65–80	Education, income, four regional measures	ABC	Sex
Knurowski et al. (2004)	1999–2001(1)	Krakow and Zagreb	814	814	65–85	65–85	Education	ABE	Sex
Knurowski et al. (2005)	1999–2001(1)	Krakow, Poland	528	528	65–85	65–85	Education, occupation, income, homeowner	AB	Sex, age
König et al. (2010)	2001–2003(1)	Six European countries	1659	1659	75+	75+	Education, income	ABCE	–
Lasheras et al. (2001)	N/A	Oviedo, Northern Spain	352	352	65–95	65–95	Education	ABC	sex
Malnar and Kurdija (2012)	2011(1)	Slovenia	1079	N/A	18+	60+	Education	–	–
Maniecka-Bryla, Drygas, Bryla, and Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk (2011)	N/A(1)	Łódź-Górna, Poland	768	768	65–74	65–74	Education	BCDE	–
McFadden et al. (2008)	1993–1997(1)	Norfolk, UK	22457	1382	39–79	65–79	Occupational class	AB	Sex, age
McMunn et al. (2009)	2002–2004(2)	England	6371	N/A	50+	65+	Wealth, income, housing tenure	AB	Sex, age
Melzer et al. (2000)	1991(1)	Four English cities	10,377	10,377	65+	65+	Social class	AB	Sex, age
Nummela et al. (2007)	2002(1)	Päijät-Häme county, Finland	2815	1548	52–76	62–76	Education, adequacy of income, income	ABC	Age
Orfila, Ferrer, Lamarca, and Alonso (2000)	1986–1994(2)	Barcelona, Spain	754	754	65+	65+	Education	ABCDE	–
Parker et al. (2013)	1968–2004(2)	Sweden	1131	1131	69–88	69–88	Education, social class	ABC	Sex
Perula de Torres et al. (1997)	1994(1)	Córdoba, Spain	1103	1103	60–94	60–94	Education, income, adequacy of income	ABC	–
Pirani and Salvini (2012)	2004–2005(1)	Italy	25,183	25,183	65+	65+	Education, housing quality, economic resources	ABCDEF	Age
Rueda and Artazcoz (2009)	2006(1)	Catalonia, Spain	2597	2597	65–85	65–85	Education, household resources	ABCF	Sex
Rueda et al. (2008)	2004(1)	10 European countries	9225	9225	65–85	65–85	Education, household income	ABC	Sex
Rueda (2012)	2006(1)	Four Spanish regions	1602	1602	65–85	65–85	Socio-economic development of the region	ABCF	Sex
Schöllgen, Huxhold, and Tesch-Roemer (2010)	2002(1)	Germany	2787	887	40–85	70–85	Education, income, financial assets	BC	–
Sulander et al. (2009)	1993–2003(1)	Finland	114,86	11,486	65–84	65–84	Education	AB	Sex
Sulander et al. (2012)	2008(1)	Helsinki, Finland	1395	1395	75–99	75–99	Education, economic resources	ABC	Sex, age
Tigani, Artemiadis, Alexopoulos, Chrousos, and Darviri (2012)	2007–2010(1)	Greece	400	400	100+	100+	Education, income, financial problems	BCDEF	–
Van Ourti (2003)	1994–1998(5)	Belgium	<26,000	<6000	15+	65+	Current income, permanent income	AB	--
von dem Knesebeck et al. (2003)	2000(1)	Germany	682	682	60+	60+	Education, income, occupation, assets, home ownership	ABC	Age
von dem Knesebeck et al. (2006)	2003(1)	22 European countries	36263	N/A	25+	61+	Education	AB	Sex, age
von dem Knesebeck (2005)	2000(1)	Germany	682	682	60+	60+	Education, income, occupational status	ABF	--
Vuorisalmi et al. (2008)	2000(1)	St Petersburg, Russia	1168	1168	60-89	60-89	Occupational class	ABE	–
Wroblewska (2002)	1996(1)	Poland	25,123	6524	15+	60+	Education, financial position	ACD	Age

¹Socioeconomic position (SEP) measures in bold are the ones found to be significantly associated with self-rated health in final fully adjusted models.

²Covariates (COV) included in the analysis: A = age; B = gender; C = socio-demographic; D = health behaviour; E = other health status/disability; F = social support/contact.

³Stratified results shown for sex or age, text in bold indicates interaction sex*SEP or age*SEP on self-rated health.

⁴Only men included in the review because they fulfil the criteria for age (60+).

Table 3. Characteristics of studies included, outcome measure: quality of life.

Author(s), year	Survey year (waves)	Location	Sample – total	Sample – review	Age – total	Age – review	SEP measure^1	Outcome measure	COV^2	Stratified analysis^3
Bowling and Stenner (2011)	2007–2008(1)	Great Britain	1276	1276	65+	65+	housing tenure	WHOQOL-OLD, CASP -19, OPQOL score	ABCEF	–
Bowling, Banister, Sutton, Evans, and Windsor (2002)	2000–2001(1)	Great Britain	999	999	65+	65+	Education, social class, income, housing tenure	Single item	ABCEF	–
Breeze et al. (2005)	1991--1999(1)	Great Britain	5581	5581	75+	75+	Area deprivation, social class	PGCMS+SIP score	ABCDE	–
Breeze et al. (2004)	N/A(1)	Great Britain	6298	6298	75+	75+	Tenure status, social class	PGCMS+SIP score	ABCDEF	–
Chandola et al. (2007)	1991–2004(5)	London, England	10308	N/A	50–74	60–74	Occupational status	SF-36: two comp.	ABC	Age
Cramm et al. (2013)	N/A(1)	Rotterdam, Netherlands	945	945	70+	70+	Education, income, home ownership	SPF-IL score	ABCF	–
de Belvis, Avolio, Sicuro et al. (2008)	1999–2000(1)	Italy	33744	33744	60+	60+	Education, adequacy of income	SF-12: two comp.	ABCDEF	–
de Belvis, Avolio, Spagnolo et al. (2008)	1999–2000(1)	Lazio region, Italy	1601	1601	60+	60+	Education, adequacy of income	SF-12: two comp.	ABCDEF	--
Eviö, Pekkarinen, Sintonen, Tiitinen, and Valimaki (2007)	2002(1)	Southern Finland	1663	1663	60–70	60–70	Education	15D score	ACE	–
Gilhooly et al. (2007)	N/A(1)	Scotland	145	145	70–91	70–91	Area deprivation	LEIPAD, QoL	ABDEF	–
Halleröd (2009)	2002–2003(1)	Sweden	3053	3053	66–99	66–99	Social class, income	Two latent comp.	ABC	–
Knurowski et al. (2004)	1999–2001(1)	Krakow and Zagreb	814	814	65–85	65–85	Education	Cantril's ladder	ABE	Sex, age
Knurowski et al. (2005)	1999–2001(1)	Krakow, Poland	528	528	65–85	65–85	Education, occupation, income, home ownership	Cantril's ladder	AB	Sex, age
König et al. (2010)	2001–2003(1)	Six European countries	1659	1659	75+	75+	Education, income	SF-12: 2 comp.	ABC	--
Laudisio et al. (2013)	2004(1)	Tuscania, Italy	356	356	75+	75+	Education, economic resources	HUI3 score	ABDE	Sex, age
Orfila et al. (2006)	1993--1994(1)	Barcelona, Spain	544	544	72+	72+	Education, social class	NHP: emotional reaction subscale	ABCDE	Sex
Pavlovic et al. (2010)	2006–2007(1)	Croatia	396	396	70–79	70–79	Education, pension	SF-36: 2 and 8 comp.	ABC	--
Regidor et al. (1999)	1996(1)	Spain	7823	1890	25+	65+	Education	SF-36: 8 comp.	B	Sex
Rodriguez-Blazquez et al. (2011)	2011(1)	Spain	1106	1106	60+	60+	education	PWI score	–	–
Sherman, Forsberg, Karp, and Tornkvist (2012)	2006(1)	Stockholm, Sweden	583	583	75	75	Education	HI score	BCE	–
Schmidt et al. (2012)	2008(1)	Germany	2222	614	25+	65+	Index of SEP	SF-12: two comp.	A	Age
Stenzelius et al. (2005)	N/A(1)	Southern Sweden	4277	4277	75+	75+	Occupational status	SF-12: two comp.	ABCE	–
von Heideken Wågert et al. (2005)	2000(1)	Umeå, Sweden	199	199	85+	85+	Education	PGCMS score	ABCEF	–
von dem Knesebeck, Wahrendorf, Hyde, and Siegrist (2007)	2004(1)	10 European countries	15080	N/A	50+	65+	Education, income, home owner, car owner, net worth	CASP-12 score	BC	Age

¹Socioeconomic position (SEP) measures in bold are the ones found to be significantly associated with quality of life in final fully adjusted models.

²Covariates (COV) included in the analysis: A = age; B = gender; C = socio-demographic; D = health behaviour; E = other health status/disability; F = social support/contact.

³Stratified results shown for sex or age, text in bold indicates interaction sex*SEP or age*SEP on quality of life.

Table 4. Characteristics of studies included, outcome measure: life satisfaction.

Author(s), year	Survey year (waves)	Location	Sample – total	Sample – review	Age – total	Age – review	Inequality measure^1	Outcome measure	COV^2	Stratified analysis^3
Bockerman, Johansson, and Saarni (2012)	2000–2001(1)	Finland	1928	1928	60+	60+	Education, income	Single item	ABCE	–
Dykstra and Wagner (2007)	1990-1993(1)	Amsterdam and Berlin	1177	1177	70+	70+	Change in social class over the work career	Single item	ABC	Sex
Enkvist, Ekstrom, and Elmstahl (2012)	2001–2004(2)	Five Swedish municipalities	681	681	78–93	78–93	Education, economical sufficiency	LSI-A score	ABCEF	–
Gaymu and Springer (2012)	2004(1)	10 European countries	13,550	13,550	60+	60+	Education, income, home ownership	Single item	ABCEF	Sex
Lucchetti et al. (2008)	2003–2004(1)	Southern Italy	304	304	75+	75+	Education, occupation, economic resources	LSI-A score	ABCEF	--
Melendez et al. (2009)	N/A	Valencia, Spain	181	181	65–92	65–92	Education, income	LSI-A score	ABCE	–
Schmidt et al. (2012)	2008(1)	Germany	2222	614	25+	65+	Index of SEP	SWLS score	A	Age

¹Socioeconomic position (SEP) measures in bold are the ones found to be significantly associated with life satisfaction in final fully adjusted models.

²Covariates (COV) included in the analysis: A = age; B = gender; C = socio-demographic; D = health behaviour; E = other health status/disability; F = social support/contact.

³Stratified results shown for sex or age, text in bold indicates interaction sex*SEP or age*SEP on life satisfaction.

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