Socio-economic variation in gender differentials in health: a life course analysis

Biplap Dhak, Institute for Social and Economic Change

Over the last few decades gender differentials in mortality has been narrowing down in India. Unlike earlier trend, recently female mortality rate has been lower than male mortality from middle ages. Nevertheless, this imbalance mortality differential between the sexes can have serious implication on women health, due to increasing widowhood, economic hardship and all others. Studies have established the relationship between socio-economic condition and gender differentials in health. However, there is very little information about how gender differentials in health changes and how affect of socio-economic variables vary across different stages of life course. Life course analysis is essential from the evidence that gender differentials in women’s status is not uniform, rather changes across the different stages of life. This study uses data from National Sample Survey, 60th round, conducted in 2004. Using logistic regression analysis, this study examines the relationship between gender differentials in health in terms morbidity, nature of illness, and various socio-economic variables at each stage of life course. The result confirm strong association between caste, household economic condition and marital status with gender differentials in health.