E. Backlund et al., THE SHAPE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCOME AND MORTALITY IN THE UNITED-STATES - EVIDENCE FROM THE NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL MORTALITY STUDY, Annals of epidemiology, 6(1), 1996, pp. 12-20
A follow-up study based on a large national sample was used to examine
differences in the well-established inverse gradient between income a
nd mortality at different income levels. The study showed the income-m
ortality gradient to be much smaller at high income levels than at low
to moderate income levels in the working age (25 to 64 years) and eld
erly (over 65 years) populations for men and women both before and aft
er adjustment for other socioeconomic variables. In addition, a much l
arger gradient existed for working age women at extreme poverty levels
than for those women at low to moderate income levels. The income-mor
tality gradient was much smaller in the elderly than in the working ag
e population. The study also examined the ability of several different
mathematic functions of income to delineate the relationship between
income and mortality. The study suggested that the health benefits ass
ociated with increased income diminish as income increases.