The effect of income inequality on the health of selected US demographic groups

Objectives. This study assessed whether documented effects of income inequality on health are consistent across demographic subgroups of the US population. Methods. Data from the National Health Interview Survey on White and Black non-Hispanics were used. Logistic regression models were estimated with SUDAAN software. Perceived health was the outcome variable. Results. The results of the multivariate analysis, in which individual family income and county-level poverty rates were included, were not consistent with existing research. In the presence of covariates, the conditional effects of inequality were restricted to Whites aged 18-44 years in the 2 highest income inequality quartiles and middle-aged Whites in counties with the highest level of income inequality. The health of Blacks of all ages, elderly Whites, and middle-aged Whites outside of the areas of highest inequality was unaffected when controls for individual characteristics and county-level poverty were in place. Conclusions. For the United States, the independent and direct contribution of income inequality to the determination of self-perceived health net of individual income and county income levels is restricted to certain demographic groups.