Relative deprivation, poverty, and subjective health: JAGES cross-sectional study

Masashige Saito; Katsunori Kondo; Naoki Kondo; Aya Abe; Toshiyuki Ojima; Kayo Suzuki; JAGES group

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111169

Relative deprivation, poverty, and subjective health: JAGES cross-sectional study

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 28;9(10):e111169. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111169. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Masashige Saito¹, Katsunori Kondo², Naoki Kondo³, Aya Abe⁴, Toshiyuki Ojima⁵, Kayo Suzuki⁶; JAGES group

Collaborators

JAGES group:
K Kondo, H Hikichi, Y Miyaguni, Y Sasaki, Y Nagamine, M Hanazato, N Kondo, T Ashida, D Takagi, Y Tani, T Ojima, E Okada, K Osaka, J Aida, T Tuboya, M Saito, H Hirai, Y Shobugawa, K Suzuki, Y Ichida, T Yamamoto, C Murata, T Saito, S Jeong, M Nakade, T Takeda, N Cable, H Todoroki, K Shirai, T Hayashi, A Tamakoshi, J Misawa, Y Fujino

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social Welfare, Nihon Fukushi University, Aichi, Japan.
² Center for Preventive Medical Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
³ Department of Health Economics and Epidemiology Research, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Empirical Social Security Research, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Shizuoka, Japan.
⁶ Department of Social Studies, Aichi Gakuin University, Aichi, Japan.

Abstract

To evaluate the association between relative deprivation (lacking daily necessities) and subjective health in older Japanese adults, we performed a cross-sectional analysis using data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). The data were obtained from functionally independent residents aged ≥65 years from 24 municipalities in Japan (n = 24,742). Thirteen items in three dimensions were used to evaluate relative deprivation of material conditions. Approximately 28% of older Japanese people indicated that they lacked some daily necessities (non-monetary poverty). A two-level Poisson regression analysis revealed that relative deprivation was associated with poor self-rated health (PR = 1.3-1.5) and depressive symptoms (PR = 1.5-1.8) in both men and women, and these relationships were stronger than those observed in people living in relative poverty (monetary poverty). The interaction effect between relative deprivation and relative poverty was not associated with poor health. As a dimension of the social determinants of health, poverty should be evaluated from a multidimensional approach, capturing not only monetary conditions but also material-based, non-monetary conditions.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aging
Attitude to Health
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression / complications*
Depression / epidemiology*
Diagnostic Self Evaluation
Female
Geriatrics / methods
Health Status*
Humans
Japan
Male
Poisson Distribution
Poverty*
Social Class
Surveys and Questionnaires
Treatment Outcome

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI 26285138 and 23243070) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and Health Labour Sciences Research Grant, Comprehensive Research on Aging and Health (H25-Choju-ippan-003) from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This survey data was supported by MEXT Supported Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities 2009–2013, Health Labour Sciences Research Grant, Comprehensive Research on Aging and Health (H22-Choju-shitei-008), JSPS KA-KENHI Grant Number 22330172, 22119506, 22390400, 22592327, 22700694, 23590786, 23700819 & 23243070, and Japan Foundation for Aging and Health. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.