BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF SES DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH

描述：（改编自申请人的摘要）：拟议的项目将 调查假设的生物学机制 老年人健康结果的社会经济差异。虽然事实上 贫穷和受教育程度较低的人死亡率、疾病率和 残疾已经被广泛记录，什么生物学的问题， 导致这些社会经济差异的机制在很大程度上仍然存在， 未指明。拟议的分析将使用广泛的生物学数据， 审查其单独和累积作用的参数， 解释了四个主要健康结果的社会经济差异：死亡， 心肌梗死、身体功能改变和认知功能改变 功能该项目将使用来自麦克阿瑟成功研究的数据， 老龄化：对1189名70-79岁社会经济不同人群的纵向研究 在1988年至1996年期间， 期在每次访谈时，抽样成员提供信息， 关于目前的健康状况，并进行了一系列的性能测试， 测量他们的身体和认知功能。调查资料 医疗保健记录中的信息将增加健康结果， 国家死亡指数生物机制的指标来自于 面谈时进行的标准医学检查以及血液和尿液化验 样本成员提供的样本。社会经济的多样性 在这个数据集中可用的生物信息使其成为理想的 拟议项目。了解生物风险简介在以下方面的作用： 按社会经济地位产生不同的健康结果将提供 有助于确定保健和教育目标的重要信息 减少健康差距的资源。

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Applicant=s Abstract): The proposed project will investigate the biological mechanisms that are hypothesized to underlie socioeconomic differences in health outcomes among older people. While the fact that poorer and less educated people have higher rates of death, disease, and disability has been widely documented, the question of what biological mechanisms give rise to these socioeconomic differences remain largely unspecified. The proposed analyses will use data on a wide range of biological parameters to examine their role, both individually and cumulatively, in explaining socioeconomic differences in four major health outcomes: death, myocardial infarction, change in physical functioning, and change in cognitive function. The project will use data from the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging, a longitudinal study of 1189 socioeconomically-divers persons aged 70-79 years at baseline, who were interviewed three times during the 1988 to 1996 period. At the time of each interview, sample members provided information about current health conditions and were given a series of performance tests to measure aspects of their physical and cognitive function. Survey information on health outcomes will be augmented with information from Medicare records and the National death Index. Indicators of biological mechanisms are derived from standard medical tests performed at interview and assays of blood and urine samples provided by sample members. The socioeconomic diversity and the range of biological information available in this data set make it ideal for the proposed project. Knowledge of the role of biological risk profiles in producing differential health outcomes by socioeconomic status will provide important information to assist in targeting health care and education resources to reduce health differentials.