Socioeconomic inequalities in the health of children and adolescents - A comparative study of the five Nordic countries

Background: Socioeconomic differences in health among adults exist in the N ordic countries as well as in all other countries where this has been exami ned. The present study examines whether such differences can also be found among children and adolescents, whether these differences vary between the Nordic countries and whether they can be found in all age groups of childre n and adolescents. Methods: Questionnaires on health, well-being and socioe conomic status (SES) were sent to parents of a random sample of children ag ed 2-17 years, equally distributed between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norwa y and Sweden. The indicators of reported ill health were having one or more chronic diseases, frequent moderate or severe symptoms and short stature. The socioeconomic variables were education and occupation of both parents a nd disposable family income. Logistic regression analysis was used to measu re the association between health and SES. Results: Parents in lower socioe conomic groups in all countries reported more ill health for their children at all ages and their children more often belonged to the lowest decile in reported height. Sweden and Denmark on the whole showed larger inequalitie s than the other three countries, but the difference between countries was small and varied according to the indicators of ill health used. The size o f the reported health inequalities did not vary with age: the differences w ere as marked among adolescents as among younger children. Conclusions: Sub stantial inequalities in health according to SES can be found in childhood and adolescence, even in well-developed welfare states.