Lifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorMukong, Alfred Kechia
dc.contributor.authorvan Walbeek, Corné
dc.contributor.authorRoss, Hana
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-08T07:04:17Z
dc.date.available2021-10-08T07:04:17Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Many low- and middle-income countries are experiencing an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases. This has negative consequences for their human capital development, and imposes a growing economic burden on their societies. While the prevalence of such diseases varies with socioeconomic status, the inequalities can be exacerbated by adopted lifestyles of individuals. Evidence suggests that lifestyle factors may explain the income-related inequality in self-reported health. Self-reported health is a subjective evaluation of people's general health status rather than an objective measure of lifestyle-related ill-health. METHOD: The objective of this paper is to expand the literature by examining the contribution of smoking and alcohol consumption to health inequalities, incorporating more objective measures of health, that are directly associated with these lifestyle practices. We used the National Income Dynamic Study panel data for South Africa. The corrected concentration index is used to measure inequalities in health outcomes. We use a decomposition technique to identify the contribution of smoking and alcohol use to inequalities in health. RESULTS: We find significant smoking-related and income-related inequalities in both self-reported and lifestyle-related ill-health. The results suggest that smoking and alcohol use contribute positively to income-related inequality in health. Smoking participation accounts for up to 7.35% of all measured inequality in health and 3.11% of the inequality in self-reported health. The estimates are generally higher for all measured inequality in health (up to 14.67%) when smoking duration is considered. Alcohol consumption accounts for 27.83% of all measured inequality in health and 3.63% of the inequality in self-reported health. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that inequalities in both self-reported and lifestyle-related ill-health are highly prevalent within smokers and the poor. These inequalities need to be explicitly addressed in future programme planning to reduce health inequalities in South Africa. We suggest that policies that can influence poor individuals to reduce tobacco consumption and harmful alcohol use will improve their health and reduce health inequalities.
dc.identifier.apacitationMukong, A. K., van Walbeek, C., & Ross, H. (2017). Lifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa. <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i>, 16(1), 174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34474en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMukong, Alfred Kechia, Corné van Walbeek, and Hana Ross "Lifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa." <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i> 16, 1. (2017): 174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34474en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMukong, A.K., van Walbeek, C. & Ross, H. 2017. Lifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa. <i>International Journal for Equity in Health.</i> 16(1):174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34474en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1475-9276
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Mukong, Alfred Kechia AU - van Walbeek, Corné AU - Ross, Hana AB - BACKGROUND: Many low- and middle-income countries are experiencing an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases. This has negative consequences for their human capital development, and imposes a growing economic burden on their societies. While the prevalence of such diseases varies with socioeconomic status, the inequalities can be exacerbated by adopted lifestyles of individuals. Evidence suggests that lifestyle factors may explain the income-related inequality in self-reported health. Self-reported health is a subjective evaluation of people's general health status rather than an objective measure of lifestyle-related ill-health. METHOD: The objective of this paper is to expand the literature by examining the contribution of smoking and alcohol consumption to health inequalities, incorporating more objective measures of health, that are directly associated with these lifestyle practices. We used the National Income Dynamic Study panel data for South Africa. The corrected concentration index is used to measure inequalities in health outcomes. We use a decomposition technique to identify the contribution of smoking and alcohol use to inequalities in health. RESULTS: We find significant smoking-related and income-related inequalities in both self-reported and lifestyle-related ill-health. The results suggest that smoking and alcohol use contribute positively to income-related inequality in health. Smoking participation accounts for up to 7.35% of all measured inequality in health and 3.11% of the inequality in self-reported health. The estimates are generally higher for all measured inequality in health (up to 14.67%) when smoking duration is considered. Alcohol consumption accounts for 27.83% of all measured inequality in health and 3.63% of the inequality in self-reported health. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that inequalities in both self-reported and lifestyle-related ill-health are highly prevalent within smokers and the poor. These inequalities need to be explicitly addressed in future programme planning to reduce health inequalities in South Africa. We suggest that policies that can influence poor individuals to reduce tobacco consumption and harmful alcohol use will improve their health and reduce health inequalities. DA - 2017 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 1 J1 - International Journal for Equity in Health LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2017 SM - 1475-9276 T1 - Lifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa TI - Lifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34474 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/34474
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMukong AK, van Walbeek C, Ross H. Lifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2017;16(1):174 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34474.en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentSchool of Economics
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerce
dc.sourceInternational Journal for Equity in Health
dc.source.journalissue1
dc.source.journalvolume16
dc.source.pagination174 - 177
dc.source.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0598-7
dc.subject.otherAlcohol and smoking
dc.subject.otherHealth inequality
dc.subject.otherConcentration index
dc.subject.otherI12
dc.subject.otherI14
dc.subject.otherC19
dc.titleLifestyle and Income-related Inequality in Health in South Africa
dc.typeJournal Article
uct.type.publicationResearch
uct.type.resourceJournal Article
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