Table 3

Response format of measures of socioeconomic position in older populations

MeasureResponse formatHow categorised (if applicable)
Education

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • 3+ categories (non-hierarchical)

  • Count (years)

  • Two categories

  • Level of education attained (years or by qualification)

  • Quartiles/Quintiles based on years of schooling (relative)

  • Above/below a given level

Income

  • Count

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • 3+ categories (non-hierarchical)

  • Two categories

  • Quartiles/quintiles/deciles (relative and absolute)

  • Income bands

  • Above/below a given level

Occupational classification or employment

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • 3+ categories (non-hierarchical)

  • Two categories

  • By occupational classification

  • Employed/not employed

Housing tenure/home ownership

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • Two categories

  • Home owned/not owned

  • Home owned/rented (social)/rented (private)

House value

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • House value bands

(Net) Assets

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • Count

  • Total value of worth/wealth bands

  • Quartiles/quintiles/deciles (relative)

Subjective SEP

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • Two categories

  • Rating of circumstance

  • Yes/no

Area deprivation or other area measure

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • Score/proportion

  • Index

  • Quartiles/quintiles (relative and absolute)

Car ownership

  • Count

  • Two categories

  • Owned/no owned car

Insurance status

  • Two categories

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • Whether participant meets an insurance threshold signalling low income

  • None/public/private

  • Has private/public insurance yes/no

Geography profile of residence

  • Two categories

  • Metropolitan/non-metropolitan

  • Urban/rural

Living lrrangements

  • Two categories

  • 3+ categories (non-hierarchical)

  • Alone/not alone

  • Live with spouse/live with other/live alone

Household material deprivation

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • Two categories

  • 0, 1 or 2+basic items lacked

  • <3 or 3+household items unable to afford

  • Good/bad, based on split of a household conditions index

Proportion of life working part time

  • Proportion

NA
Marital status

  • Two categories

  • Married/other

Perceived access to healthcare

  • Score (0–1)

NA
Out of pocket payments for healthcare

  • Two categories

  • Yes/no

Poverty income ratio

  • 3+ categories (hierarchical)

  • Bands of poverty-income ratio

Poverty threshold status

  • Two categories

  • Above or below a given poverty threshold

  • N/A, not available; SEP, socioeconomic position.