Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19150903›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of public health2009

Health disadvantage in US adults aged 50 to 74 years: a comparison of the health of rich and poor Americans with that of Europeans.

Mauricio Avendano, M Maria Glymour, James Banks, Johan P Mackenbach

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of public health, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 105 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
105citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

105 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Cerebellar Purkinje cell firing reduction contributes to aging-related declining motor coordination in mice.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
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  9. The prevalence of functional limitations in the US workforce.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
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  10. Article
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  12. Do institutions matter for citizens' health status? Empirical evidence from Italy.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Socioeconomic Inequalities in Frailty Distribution: A Cross-National Comparison of the United States and England.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024
    Article
  15. Inequalities in Mortality in the Asia-Pacific: A Cross-National Comparison of Socioeconomic Gradients.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

45 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mauricio AvendanoDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands. m.avendanopabon@erasmusmc.nl
M Maria Glymour
James Banks
Johan P Mackenbach

Funding

HRS Yrs29-34: Y33 SSA CoFundingU01AG009740 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Jessica Faul, KENNETH M LANGA · 1990 to 2026
$555.8M
Understanding and Improving Healthcare Decision-Making and Outcomes for People Living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related DementiasP01AG005842 · NIA · NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH · PI JOSEPH J DOYLE · 1986 to 2026
$56.5M
Project-001R01AG017644 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INST OF NEUROLOGY · PI Andrew Steptoe · 2000 to 2026
$56.2M
WEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG MATURE AND OLDER ADULTSP01AG008291 · NIA · RAND CORPORATION · PI HURD, MICHAEL D · 1989 to 2018
$19.4M
RAND CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF AGINGP30AG012815 · NIA · RAND CORPORATION · PI HURD, MICHAEL D · 1999 to 2020
$13.7M
NIA NIH HHS P01 AG005842NIA NIH HHS P01 AG008291NIA NIH HHS P30 AG012815NIA NIH HHS R01 AG017644NIA NIH HHS U01 AG009740
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe compared the health of older US, English, and other European adults, stratified by wealth.

methodsRepresentative samples of adults aged 50 to 74 years were interviewed in 2004 in 10 European countries (n = 17,481), England (n = 6527), and the United States (n = 9940). We calculated prevalence rates of 6 chronic diseases and functional limitations.

resultsAmerican adults reported worse health than did English or European adults. Eighteen percent of Americans reported heart disease, compared with 12% of English and 11% of Europeans. At all wealth levels, Americans were less healthy than were Europeans, but differences were more marked among the poor. Health disparities by wealth were significantly smaller in Europe than in the United States and England. Odds ratios of heart disease in a comparison of the top and bottom wealth tertiles were 1.94 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.69, 2.24) in the United States, 2.13 (95% CI = 1.73, 2.62) in England, and 1.38 (95% CI = 1.23, 1.56) in Europe. Smoking, obesity, physical activity levels, and alcohol consumption explained a fraction of health variations.

conclusionsAmerican adults are less healthy than Europeans at all wealth levels. The poorest Americans experience the greatest disadvantage relative to Europeans.

Indexed as

Health Status DisparitiesPovertyAgedAge FactorsChronic DiseaseConfidence IntervalsEuropeFemaleHeart DiseasesHumansMaleMiddle AgedOdds RatioPersons with DisabilitiesPrevalenceRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID19150903
PMCPMC2661456

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.