Table 3

Key results and quality assessments for studies investigating household composition (n=7), household tenure (n=4) and household rurality (n=7), structured per social determinant

Risk of Bias§
First author (Year)Key resultsSelectionInformation (Exposure)Information (Outcome)Confounding
Household composition
Agborsangaya (2012)61 Yes

No
OR 2.11¶ (1.60–2.78)

Data not available
Living with children vs not living with children

Living with adults vs not living with adults
Age, sex, education and household incomeHMML
Cantarero-Prieto (2018)70 YesOR 1.20 (1.04–1.39, p<0.05)Living alone vs cohabitsUnclearUUMU
Henchoz (2019)37 YesOR 1.40* (1.21–1.61)Living alone vs cohabitsNo adjustmentUMMM
Melis (2014)45 NoOR 1.34 (0.60–3.01)Living alone vs cohabitsNo adjustmentUMLH
Mounce (2018)47 NoHR 0.93 (0.71–1.21, p=0.580)Living alone vs cohabitsBaseline age, sex, total wealth, educational attainment, health behaviours, social detachment and locus of controlUMML
Prazeres (2015)52 NoOR 1.4§ (0.9–2.3, p=0.182)

OR 1.0§ (0.6–1.7, p=0.985)

OR 1.3§ (0.7–2.6, p=0.410)
Living as a couple vs alone

Living as extended family vs alone

Living in other situation (inc. care home) vs alone
Age, sex, marital status, education, professional status, residence area, living arrangementHMLL
Schäfer (2012)60 No−0.10 conditions (−0.42–0.23, p=0.562)

0.24 conditions (−0.14–0.62, p=0.210)

−0.01 conditions (−0.59–0.57, p=0.231)
Living at home with spouse vs home alone

Living at home with family members or others vs home alone

Living in assisted living or retirement home vs home alone
Age, gender, marital status, job autonomy, household composition, incomeHMLU
Household tenure
Chung(2015)65 YesOR 1.17 (1.11–1.24, p=0.003)

OR 1.19 (1.09–1.29, p=0.041)

OR 1.11 (1.05–1.18, p=0.070)
Homeowner vs public (social) housing

Private renting vs public (social) housing

Subsidised housing vs public (social) housing
Age, gender, education, housing, employmentHMML
Johnson-Lawrence (2017)69 YesOR 1.19 (1.15–1.24)Renters vs homeownersAge, gender, ethnicity, education, interview year, region, marital status, last doctor visit, employment, household incomeUMHL
Lebenbaum(2018)66 YesOR 0.82 (0.78–0.87, p<0.001)Homeowners vs non-homeownersAge, age2, sex, marital status, immigration status, education, rurality, homeownership, smoking, alcohol useLMHL
Schäfer (2012)60 No−0.13 conditions (−0.30–0.05, p=0.148)Homeowners vs non-homeownersAge, gender, marital status, job autonomy, household composition, incomeHMLU
Rurality
Cantarero-Prieto (2018)70 NoOR 0.92 (0.93–1.03, p>0.1)Living in rural vs non-rural areasUnclearUUMU
Foguet-Boreu (2014)36 YesOR 1.04* , ** (1.03–1.05)Living in rural (<10 000 inhabitants and/or population density <150 people/km2) vs non-rural areasUnadjustedULLU
Lebenbaum (2018)66 NoOR 0.98 (0.93–1.02, p=0.323)Rural vs non-rural areasAge, age2, sex, marital status, immigration status, education, rurality, homeownership, smoking, alcohol useLMHL
Lujic (2017)43 YesOR 1.14† (1.03–1.26)Living in remote/very remote areas (vs major cities)Age and sexHMMM
Prazeres (2015)52 NoOR 1.0‡ (0.8–1.3, p=0.746)Living in rural vs urban areasAge, sex, marital status, education, professional status, residence area, living arrangementHMLL
Roberts (2015)53 YesOR 1.1 (1.0–1.3)Living in rural vs urban areasAge, sex, household education, household income, Aboriginal status, activity level, smoking, stress, blood pressure, obesityHMHM
Ryan (2018)54 YesOR 0.85* (0.85–0.86)Living in rural (<10 000 inhabitants) vs non-rural areasAge-sex standardisedLLLM
  • *OR calculated from data reported in paper.

  • †Based on self-reported health data. Findings consistent across hospital and medication health data.

  • ‡Multimorbidity defined as ≥2 chronic conditions.

  • §H, High; M, Medium; L, Low; U, Unclear.

  • ¶Associations greater for 65+.

  • **Inequalities similar with gender and greater≥45 years.