Register for email alerts and news feeds:
This journal | BMJ Group
rss
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2008;62:344-350; doi:10.1136/jech.2006.058610
Copyright © 2008 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY AND PRACTICE

Physical activity in older women: associations with area deprivation and with socioeconomic position over the life course: observations in the British Women’s Heart and Health Study

M Hillsdon1, D A Lawlor2, S Ebrahim3, J N Morris4

1 Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
2 Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
3 Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
4 Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Correspondence to:
M Hillsdon, Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TP, UK; m.hillsdon{at}bristol.ac.uk

Objective: To assess the association between residential area-level deprivation, individual life-course socioeconomic position and adult levels of physical activity in older British women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 4286 British women aged 60–79 years at baseline, who were randomly selected from general practitioner lists in 23 British towns between April 1999 and March 2001 (the British Women’s Heart and Health Study).

Results: All three of childhood socioeconomic position, adult socioeconomic position and area of residence (in adulthood) deprivation were independently (of each other and potential confounders) associated with physical activity. There was a cumulative effect of life-course socioeconomic position on physical activity, with the proportion who undertook no moderate or vigorous activity per week increasing linearly with each additional indicator of life-course socioeconomic position (p<0.001 for linear trend).

Conclusion: Adverse socioeconomic position across the life-course is associated with an increased cumulative risk of low physical activity in older women. Reducing socioeconomic inequalities across the life course would thus be expected to improve levels of physical activity and the associated health benefits in later life.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

In this issue
Carlos Alvarez-Dardet, John Ashton
J Epidemiol Community Health 2008 62: 281. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Watt, H. C., Carson, C., Lawlor, D. A., Patel, R., Ebrahim, S. (2009). Influence of Life Course Socioeconomic Position on Older Women's Health Behaviors: Findings From the British Women's Heart and Health Study. AJPH 99: 320-327 [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article

Services
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.

BMJ Careers - Latest infectious diseases and epidemilogy jobs

Infectious diseases and epidemilogy jobs