Income related inequalities in mental health in Great Britain: analysing the causes of health inequality over time

Using regression techniques this paper estimates the level of income related health inequality in GB in 1992 and 1998. Inequality is decomposed to investigate which socio-demographic factors are important contributors to health differences. The paper includes a range of measured and subjective income variables to control for absolute income. A relative deprivation measure is included to test the impact of income inequality on health inequality. It is found that subjective financial status is a major determinant of ill-health and makes a major contribution to income related inequalities in health. Relative deprivation is an important contributor for women but not for men.