Does Social Interaction Explain Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health Status? Results from the Japanese Community-Dwelling Elderly Age 65 to 84 Years

作者：Wang, Shuo^*; Hoshi, Tanji; Ai, Bin

来源：Educational Gerontology, 2015, 41(2): 81-92.

DOI：10.1080/03601277.2014.938551

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate whether social interaction has a mediating influence on the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health status among elderly community-dwelling Japanese. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all of the elderly age 65 years and over in Tama City in Japan in 2001. Overall 8,558 elderly individuals answered the questionnaire, with a response rate of 80.2%. Bivariate correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. The results showed that social interaction exerted direct and positive effects on health status (0.51 for men, 0.57 for women); SES not only directly affected health status (0.14 for men, 0.21 for women), but also demonstrated an indirect effect via social interaction (0.13 for men, 0.23 for women), particularly on subjective health (0.82 for elderly men, 0.74 for elderly women). All of the associations were more pronounced among elderly women. In conclusion, social interaction may partly explain SES differences in health status, especially for elderly women. Therefore, the promotion of social contact and participation may contribute to the reduction of health disparities among Japanese community-dwelling elderly individuals age 65-84 years.

• 出版日期2015-2-1
• 单位中央民族大学