TY - JOUR
T1 - Better health reports when the grass is greener on your side of the fence? A cross-sectional study in older persons
AU - Bosma, Hans
AU - Groffen, Danielle
AU - van den Akker, Marjan
AU - Kempen, Gertrudis I. J. M.
AU - van Eijk, Jacques Th. M.
PY - 2011/8
Y1 - 2011/8
N2 - To study whether the luxury goods make older people feel in better health and whether this association is similar in higher and lower social classes. SMILE consists of a Dutch general population consisting of 2.637 men and women aged 60 years and older in 2007. The SF-36 was used to measure health-related functioning. In the lower social class, having many luxury goods was related to feeling in better physical (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.39-3.07) and mental health (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.21-2.64), but not in the higher social class. There might be a health benefit of keeping up appearances, snobbism, and "conspicuous consumption" in older people from lower social classes.
AB - To study whether the luxury goods make older people feel in better health and whether this association is similar in higher and lower social classes. SMILE consists of a Dutch general population consisting of 2.637 men and women aged 60 years and older in 2007. The SF-36 was used to measure health-related functioning. In the lower social class, having many luxury goods was related to feeling in better physical (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.39-3.07) and mental health (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.21-2.64), but not in the higher social class. There might be a health benefit of keeping up appearances, snobbism, and "conspicuous consumption" in older people from lower social classes.
KW - Socioeconomic inequalities
KW - Health
KW - Older persons
U2 - 10.1007/s00038-010-0176-x
DO - 10.1007/s00038-010-0176-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 20697768
SN - 1661-8556
VL - 56
SP - 449
EP - 453
JO - International Journal of Public Health
JF - International Journal of Public Health
IS - 4
ER -