Income inequality and cardiovascular disease risk factors in a highly unequal country: a fixed-effects analysis from South Africa.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Chronic stress associated with high income inequality has been hypothesized to increase CVD risk and other adverse health outcomes. However, most evidence comes from high-income countries, and there is limited evidence on the link between income inequality and biomarkers of chronic stress and risk for CVD. This study examines how changes in income inequality over recent years relate to changes in CVD risk factors in South Africa, home to some of the highest levels of income inequality globally. METHODS:We linked longitudinal data from 9356 individuals interviewed in the 2008 and 2012 National Income Dynamics Study to district-level Gini coefficients estimated from census and survey data. We investigated whether subnational district income inequality was associated with several m

SUBMITTER: Adjaye-Gbewonyo K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5839065 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature