PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - L D Howe
AU  - J R Hargreaves
AU  - S Gabrysch
AU  - S R A Huttly
TI  - Is the wealth index a proxy for consumption expenditure? A systematic review
AID  - 10.1136/jech.2009.088021
DP  - 2009 Nov 01
TA  - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
PG  - 871--877
VI  - 63
IP  - 11
4099  - http://jech.bmj.com/content/63/11/871.short
4100  - http://jech.bmj.com/content/63/11/871.full
SO  - J Epidemiol Community Health2009 Nov 01; 63
AB  - Background: Many epidemiological studies require a measure of socioeconomic position. The monetary measure preferred by economists is consumption expenditure; the wealth index has been proposed as a reliable, simple alternative to expenditure and is extensively used.Methods: A systematic review was conducted of the agreement between wealth indices and consumption expenditure, summarising the agreement and exploring factors affecting agreement.Results: Seventeen studies using 36 datasets met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 22 demonstrated weak agreement, 10 moderate agreement, and four strong agreement. There was some evidence that agreement is higher: in middle-income settings; in urban areas; for wealth indices with a greater number of indicators; and for wealth indices including a wider range of indicators.Conclusions: The wealth index is mostly a poor proxy for consumption expenditure.