Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31248930›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2019

A publicly well-accepted measure versus an academically desirable measure of health inequality: cross-sectional comparison of the difference between income quintiles with the slope index of inequality.

Young-Ho Khang, Dohee Lim, Jinwook Bahk, Ikhan Kim, Hee-Yeon Kang, Youngs Chang, Kyunghee Jung-Choi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
–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

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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

14 citing papers in PubMed.

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  4. Global Trends and Inequalities of Liver Complications Related to Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: An Analysis From 1990 to 2021.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2025
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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

7 authors.

Young-Ho KhangDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-9585-8266
Dohee LimInstitute of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-0549-8704
Jinwook BahkDepartment of Public Health, Keimyung University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Ikhan KimDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-6428-4159
Hee-Yeon KangDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Youngs ChangDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0003-4722-6894
Kyunghee Jung-ChoiDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe difference between income quintiles in health is relatively well accepted by the general public as a measure of health inequality. However, the slope index of inequality (SII) in health reflects the patterns of all social groups, including the middle 60%, and it could therefore be considered more academically desirable. If these two measures are closely correlated, the widespread use of the difference between income quintiles in health would be better supported. This study was conducted to compare differences between income quintiles in life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE) with the SII.

designCross-sectional comparison using correlational analysis of district level income differences in LE and HLE with associated SII.

settingAll 252 subnational districts of Korea.

participantsA total of 342 439 895 subjects (171 287 729 men, 171 152 166 women) and 1 753 476 deaths (970 928 men, 782 548 women) between 2008 and 2014 were analysed. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Difference in LE and HLE by income quintile and associated SII.

resultsThe Pearson correlation coefficients between differences between income quintiles and the SII were generally high: 0.97 (95% CI 0.96 to 0.98) for LE in men and women combined and 0.96 (95% CI 0.94 to 0.97) for HLE in men and women combined. In most districts, the SII was greater than the difference between income quintiles.

conclusionDifferences between income quintiles were closely correlated with the SII. The widespread use of differences between income quintiles in health as a measure of health inequality may be preferable for communicating results of health inequality measurements to the public.

Indexed as

Health Status DisparitiesLife ExpectancyQuality-Adjusted Life YearsSocioeconomic FactorsAbstracting and IndexingCorrelation of DataCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth EquityHumansIncomeMaleOutcome Assessment, Health CarePublic OpinionRepublic of Koreahealth statusincomeKorealife expectancysocioeconomic factors

Identifiers

PMID31248930
PMCPMC6597623

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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.