[Influence of income, income inequalities and social capital on the health of persons aged 65 and over in Spain in 2007]

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of personal income [absolute income hypothesis (AIH)], income inequality and welfare [relative income hypothesis (RIH)], and social capital on the health of older people. Multi-level, cross-sectional logit models are calculated separately for women and men. The database employed was the Spanish Life Conditions Survey for 2007. The population consists of 6,259 persons aged over 65 years living in the 17 autonomous regions of Spain. The results confirm the AIH hypothesis: higher personal income is associated with better health. Education is also associated with better self-perceived health. The RIH hypothesis is partially confirmed due to the association between the Gini coefficient, regional per capita welfare and self-perceived health in older people, but only for women. Two different measures of social capital are used: the value of services of social capital and the percentage of people aged over 65 belonging to an association. Both factors are statistically associated with better self-perceived health in women. This study is the first to contrast the associations among income, income inequalities, social capital and the health of elders in Spain.