Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32571408›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2020

A distributional regression approach to income-related inequality of health in Australia.

Roselinde Kessels, Anne Hoornweg, Thi Kim Thanh Bui, Guido Erreygers

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for equity in health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

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6citing papers in PubMed
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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Roselinde KesselsDepartment of Data Analytics and Digitalization, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, Maastricht, 6200, MD, The Netherlands. r.kessels@maastrichtuniversity.nl.ORCID 0000-0002-4534-0047
Anne HoornwegSchool of Economics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 15867, Amsterdam, 1001, NJ, The Netherlands.
Thi Kim Thanh BuiDepartment of Economics, University of Antwerp, City Campus, Prinsstraat 13, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium.
Guido ErreygersDepartment of Economics, University of Antwerp, City Campus, Prinsstraat 13, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSeveral studies have confirmed the existence of a significant positive relationship between income and health. Conventional regression techniques such as Ordinary Least Squares only help identify the effect of the covariates on the mean of the health variable. In this way, important information of the income-health relationship could be overlooked. As an alternative, we apply and compare unconventional regression techniques.

methodsWe adopt a distributional approach because we want to allow the effect of income on health to vary according to people's health status. We start by analysing the income-health relationship using a distributional regression model that falls into the GAMLSS (Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape) framework. We assume a gamma distribution to model the health variable and specify the parameters of this distribution as linear functions of a set of explanatory variables. For comparison, we also adopt a quantile regression analysis. Based on predicted health quantiles, we use both a parametric and a non-parametric approach to estimate the lower tail of the health distribution.

resultsOur data come from Wave 13 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, collected in 2013-2014. According to GAMLSS, we find that the risk of ending up in poor, fair or average health is lower for those who have relatively high incomes ($80,000) than for those who have relatively low incomes ($20,000), for both smokers and non-smokers. In relative terms, the risk-lowering effect of income appears to be the largest for those who are in poor health, again for both smokers and non-smokers. The results obtained on the basis of quantile regression are to a large extent comparable to those obtained by means of GAMLSS regression.

conclusionsBoth distributional regression techniques point in the direction of a non-uniform effect of income on health, and are therefore promising complements to conventional regression techniques as far as the analysis of the income-health relationship is concerned.

Indexed as

Health StatusRegression AnalysisSocioeconomic FactorsStatistical DistributionsAustraliaHealthcare DisparitiesHumansIncomePovertySurveys and QuestionnairesDistributional regressionGAMLSSQuantile regressionSocioeconomic health inequality

Identifiers

PMID32571408
PMCPMC7310143

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.