Elsevier

Annals of Epidemiology

Volume 11, Issue 6, August 2001, Pages 395-405
Annals of Epidemiology

Original report
Area Characteristics and Individual-Level Socioeconomic Position Indicators in Three Population-Based Epidemiologic Studies

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1047-2797(01)00221-6Get rights and content

Abstract

PURPOSE: There is growing interest in incorporating area indicators into epidemiologic analyses. Using data from the 1990 U.S. Census linked to individual-level data from three epidemiologic studies, we investigated how different area indicators are interrelated, how measures for different sized areas compare, and the relation between area and individual-level social position indicators.

METHODS: The interrelations between 13 area indicators of wealth/income, education, occupation, and other socioenvironmental characteristics were investigated using correlation coefficients and factor analyses. The extent to which block-group measures provide information distinct from census tract measures was investigated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Loglinear models were used to investigate associations between area and individual-level indicators.

RESULTS: Correlations between area measures were generally in the 0.5–0.8 range. In factor analyses, six indicators of income/wealth, education, and occupation loaded on one factor in most geographic sites. Correlations between block-group and census tract measures were high (correlation coefficients 0.85–0.96). Most of the variability in block-group indicators was between census tracts (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.72–0.92). Although individual-level and area indicators were associated, there was evidence of important heterogeneity in area of residence within individual-level income or education categories. The strength of the association between individual and area measures was similar in the three studies and in whites and blacks, but blacks were much more likely to live in more disadvantaged areas than whites.

CONCLUSIONS: Area measures of wealth/income, education, and occupation are moderately to highly correlated. Differences between using census tract or block-group measures in contextual investigations are likely to be relatively small. Area and individual-level indicators are far from perfectly correlated and provide complementary information on living circumstances. Differences in the residential environments of blacks and whites may need to be taken into account in interpreting race differences in epidemiologic studies.

Section snippets

Sources of Data

The data used in these analyses came from the 1990 U.S. Census and from three population-based epidemiologic studies: the Coronary Artery Disease Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). The CARDIA sample consisted of persons aged 18–30 years at baseline selected by probability sampling in Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis MN; and Oakland, CA (36). Black and white participants were

Interrelations Between Census Indicators and Comparison of Census Tract and Block-Group Measures

Means and medians for the census indicators were similar for census tracts and block-groups (not shown), although the range (1st–99th percentiles) was slightly greater for block-groups. At the block-group level, wealth/income, education, and occupation variables tended to be fairly highly correlated (Spearman's correlations (r): 0.5–0.8). However, percentage of housing units that were owner occupied was less strongly associated with education and occupation (most r < 0.4) and was weakly

Discussion

In these samples, correlations between block-group measures of income/wealth, education, and occupation were generally in the 0.5–0.8 range. Slightly higher correlations were observed for census tract measures. Two factors, reflecting a socioeconomic dimension and a residential stability dimension, emerged in factor analyses of the 13 variables. We found generally high agreement between continuous block-group and census tract measures of the same construct, and most of the variability in

Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms

CARDIA = Coronary Artery Disease Risk Development in Young Adults Study

ARIC = Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

CHS = Cardiovascular Health Study

ICC BG = Intraclass correlation coefficient for multiple measures on a block-group

ICC CT = Intraclass correlation coefficient for multiple block-groups within a census tract

(Because these abbreviations are nonstandard, they are spelled out on their first usage.)

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by R29 HL59386 (Dr. Diez-Roux) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. CHS was supported by contracts N01-HC-85079—N01-HC-85086 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Georgetown Echo RC-HL 35129 JHU MRI RC-HL 15103. The ARIC Study was supported by Contracts N01-HC-55015, N01-HC-55016, N01-HC-55018, N01-HC-55019, N01-HC-55020, N01-HC-55021, N01-HC-55022 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The CARDIA Study was supported by

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