Geographical patterns in the sociodemographic characteristic
Session
Health and social differnces
Abstract
A wide range of non-communicable diseases is found to vary are socially unequally distributed within the population. However, it remains unclear whether the geographical patterns of non-communicable disease can be explained by sociodemographic characteristics. This register-based study aimed at examining the geographical patterns in sociodemographic characteristics in Denmark. The study included approximately 4.5 mio Danish residents. The median disposable income was lowest at in areas far from the largest cities in Denmark. The proportion of elderly was highest along the coastline and at the islands. The proportion of unemployed overall followed the patterns of low median disposable household income, but the proportion was also high in metropolitan areas. Sociodemographic characteristics might be important confounders of the geographical differences in non-communicable disease.
Målgruppe
Målgruppen er sundhedsplanlæggere, demografer, forskere og andre professionelle med interesse i geografiske forskelle i sociodemografi.
Yderligere uddybning af abstract
A wide range of non-communicable diseases is found to vary geographically between and within countries and many non-communicable diseases are socially unequally distributed within the population. However, it remains unclear whether the geographical patterns of non-communicable disease can be explained by the geographical differences in sociodemographic characteristics. Knowledge on the geographical patterns of sociodemographic characteristics is therefore essential for the understanding of geographical patterns in non-communicable diseases. This study aimed at examining the geographical patterns in sociodemographic characteristics in Denmark.
This register-based study population consisted of all adults (≥ 18 year) with residential location in Denmark in 2015. In Denmark, the smallest administrative geographical unit is parish (n=2201), and parish was used as the geographical unit for studying indicators of sociodemographic characteristics. The sociodemographic indicators studied were median disposable household income, proportion of elderly (≥65 years) and proportion unemployed in the parish.
The study included approximately 4.5 mio Danish residents. The median disposable income was lowest at in areas far from the largest cities in Denmark, e.g, Bornholm, Lolland, Falster and Northwestern and Southwestern part of Jutland. The proportion of elderly was highest along the coastline and at the islands. The proportion of unemployed overall followed the patterns of low median disposable household income, but the proportion was also high in metropolitan areas.
The population’s sociodemographic characteristics vary across Denmark and are to some extent overlapping. Sociodemographic characteristics might be important confounders of the geographical differences in non-communicable disease. Future studies should consider including these sociodemographic factors in geographical epidemiological models of non-communicable diseases.
