SOCIAL-CLASS AND CHRONIC ILLNESS IN DUBLIN

Information on the social class distribution of illness is scarce in I reland. The aim of this study was to document the social class distrib ution of 12 common chronic conditions in middle-aged persons in Dublin , Data were collected on 3,111 individuals attending three large gener al practices over the course of a calendar year, and 1,024 individuals living in the same areas, Ten out of the 12 conditions studied were s ignificantly more common in those from social classes five and six, th an those from social classes one and two. Persons from social classes three and four, and classes five and six, had an overall excess morbid ity rate of 21% and 70% respectively, The distribution of chronic illn ess in middle-aged residents of Dublin is social class related.