Health and inequalities among the oldest old

The elderly, and especially the oldest old, have generally been overlooked in research on social class inequalities in health. On the basis of nationally representative data from Sweden for the age group 77 to 98 (N=537), we have been able to demonstrate clear differences in health between social classes. These inequalities were found both for men and women. It should be noticed, however, that the patterns of class differences varied depending on the health indicator used. The often employed global measure of self-rated health showed the smallest class gradient when controlling for age and sex, whereas larger differences were found with more concrete and descriptive measures such as peak flow rate.