Ten year trends in health inequalities among older people, 1993-2003

in old age is associated with increased mortality and hospitalization. Pelemans W. Serum transferrin receptor in the evaluation of the iron status in elderly hospitalized patients with anaemia. Role of transferrin, transferring receptors and iron in macrophage listericidal activity. Serum transferrin receptor assay in iron deficiency anaemia and anaemia of chronic disease in the elderly. Ten year trends in health inequalities among older people, 1993–2003 SIR—In most western societies, socioeconomic position operates as a powerful discriminator of health status and risk of premature mortality [1]. This pattern is visible throughout the life course from young people to the oldest old [2–9]. Self-rated health (SRH) has often been used in studies on health inequalities [1, 10], and it is recommended as a health measure by the WHO [11]. Associations of poor SRH with morbidity and mortality are well established among people with different ages. The associations have been shown to be maintained even when other health measures such as car-diovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, cancer and functional capacity are controlled [12–14]. Although studies of SRH among older people have gained prominence in recent years, the results lack coherence [9, 15– 18]. Studies concerning cohort changes in SRH have found both improved and deteriorated levels among older people [19]. A recent study from the US suggested a stable or a slightly improved level of SRH among older people from the early 1990s onwards [20]. Results from Sweden indicated stable figures of SRH among older people [9]. There has been a strong impetus for strategies to prevent CVDs in Finland [21]. In fact CVD mortality in Finland has declined considerably since 1970s. Results from Sweden have indicated some of the CVDs to be increased from the 1980s to the early 2000s among older population aged 65–84 years [22]. CVDs have also been found to be associated inversely with several indicators of SES, including education [23]. Reducing socioeconomic health inequalities has been a central goal in national public health programmes in several countries, including Finland [24], since the 1980s. Even though positive changes in health and functional ability have been found in many countries, health disparities have been either stable or slightly increasing among those of working age [25]. Less is known, however, about the trends of health inequalities among older people. A study from Sweden showed no changes in socioeconomic disparities in SRH among older people between the early 1990s and 2000s [9]. A …