Is SARS a Poor Man's Disease? Socioeconomic Status and Risk Factors for SARS Transmission
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Grace Wong Bucchianeri
This paper investigates the link between various risk factors, including socioeconomic status (SES), and the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003. A comprehensive data set compiled by the author shows a negative and significant correlation between SARS incidence and various measures of income, but not years of education, unlike previous studies on other health conditions. The income-SARS gradient can be accounted for by controlling for pre-SARS housing values but not an array of measurable living conditions. Areas with more white-collar workers experienced a higher incidence rate, largely driven by the share of service and sales workers, after controlling for SES. These results have implications for the understanding of the SES-health link in the context of a contagious disease, the potential causality of the SES-SARS relationship and for future SARS containment strategies.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
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- The Contributions of Improved Therapy and Earlier Detection to Cancer Survival Gains, 1988-2000
- From Cradle to Classroom: High Birth Weight and Cognitive Outcomes
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- State Dependence among the Uninsured: Accounting for Feedback to Health and Employment
- The Effect of Massachusetts' Health Reform on Employer-Sponsored Insurance Premiums
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- Reinsurance for High Health Costs: Benefits, Limitations, and Alternatives
- Macroeconomic Effects of HIV/AIDS Prevalence and Policy in Nigeria: A Simulation Analysis
- Obesity and Price Sensitivity at the Supermarket
- Is SARS a Poor Man's Disease? Socioeconomic Status and Risk Factors for SARS Transmission
- Are Increasing 5-Year Survival Rates Evidence of Success Against Cancer? A Reexamination Using Data from the U.S. and Australia
- Do Changes In Cigarette Taxes Impact Youth Smoking? Evidence from Canadian Provinces
- Health Risk, Income, and Employment-Based Health Insurance
