SES and Health Expectancies in the Mexican Elderly Population

Cesar Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, México
Roberto Ham-Chande, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte

Chronic diseases and limitations in activities of daily living are characteristic of old age. Interrelationships between socio-economic status, morbidity and disability are well-known. What is not so clear are their direction and intensity. Using the Mexican health and Aging Study survey and mortality records health expectancies are estimated linked to education, present income, past health conditions, and social background in childhood. Results show that the loss of functionality is exacerbated among the elderly in poverty. The increase in life expectancy does not imply improvements in health expectations. Not all diseases produce disability. The type and degree of association with disability is different depending on the socio-economic indicator that is used. Not only health expectancies matters as a public health issue but also their socio-economic impact on the individual, the family and the society.