Psychological medicine
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Psychological medicine · Jul 2007
Income-related inequality in mental health in Britain: the concentration index approach.
Reduction of health inequalities is a major policy goal in the UK. While there is general recognition of the disadvantaged position of people with mental health problems, the extent of inequality, particularly the association with socio-economic characteristics, has not been widely studied. We aimed to measure income-related inequality in the distribution of psychiatric disorders and to compare with inequality in other health domains. ⋯ Income-related inequalities exist in mental health in Britain. As much of the observed inequality is probably due to factors associated with income and not due to the demographic composition of the income quintiles, it may be that these inequalities are potentially 'avoidable'.