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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Cumulative social disadvantage and child health

Laurie J Bauman1, Ellen J Silver, Ruth E K Stein

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA. bauman@aecom.yu.edu

Pediatrics
|April 6, 2006
PubMed

Insights

The accumulation of social disadvantages, including poverty and single-parent households, significantly increases the risk of poor child health. Health insurance did not mitigate these disparities.

Area of Science:

  • Child Health Research
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Public Health Policy

Background:

  • Child health disparities represent a significant public health challenge.
  • The specific contributions of socioeconomic and demographic factors to these disparities remain unclear.
  • Previous research has not comprehensively examined the cumulative impact of social risk factors on child health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cumulative effects of four social risk factors on child health.
  • To determine if poverty, minority race/ethnicity, low parental education, and single-parent households have a combined impact on children's health.
  • To assess whether health insurance access mitigates these social disparities in child health.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 57,553 children using the 1994-1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplement.
  • Identification and summation of three key social risk factors: poverty, low parental education, and single-parent household status, to create a Social Disadvantage Index.
  • Statistical analysis using odds ratios to compare health outcomes across different levels of social disadvantage.

Main Results:

  • A significant portion of children (10.0%) experienced all three social disadvantages.
  • The odds of poor child health increased substantially with each additional risk factor (ORs ranging from 1.95 to 4.06).
  • Cumulative social disadvantage was also associated with higher odds of chronic conditions and activity limitations.

Conclusions:

  • The accumulation of social disadvantage is strongly linked to poorer child health outcomes.
  • Health insurance coverage did not appear to reduce the health disparities observed among children facing social disadvantages.
  • Findings underscore the need for interventions addressing the root social determinants of child health.
Abstract

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