Online tool for cross-sectional and longitudinal comparison of socio-economic status indices based on postcodes in Australia.

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q2 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

Internal Medicine Journal Pub Date : 2025-06-20 DOI:10.1111/imj.70117

Andrzej S Januszewski, Rachel L O'Connell, Liping Li, David R Sullivan, Alicia J Jenkins, Anthony C Keech

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Socio-economic status (SES) is strongly associated with health outcomes, yet it remains relatively difficult to measure, particularly for longitudinal comparisons.

Aim: We have developed an interactive online tool (available at bit.ly/SEIFA-POA) that facilitates SES assessment based on postcodes (POA).

Methods: By utilising percentiles of socio-economic indices for areas (SEIFA) derived from postcode-based rankings across Australia, this tool enables comparisons of SEIFA indices provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) censuses from 1986 through to 2021. A percentile-based methodology preserves the relative socio-economic position of areas over time, thereby circumventing the methodological inconsistencies inherent in SEIFA calculations across different census periods. The tool simplifies SES assessment, offering researchers and policymakers a practical solution for both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

Results: In 6051 participants of the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) trial from Australia, we demonstrated that favourable SES is associated with a lower frequency of vascular complications in the participants' medical history. The absence of an observed association between SES and on-trial complications may be attributed to the relatively short 5-year average time horizon of the analysis.

Conclusion: Our SES assessment tool provides a more nuanced understanding of SES disparities and their implications for health and well-being.

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在线工具的横断面和纵向比较的社会经济地位指数基于邮政编码在澳大利亚。

背景：社会经济地位（SES）与健康结果密切相关，但它仍然相对难以衡量，特别是纵向比较。目的：我们开发了一个交互式在线工具（可在bit.ly/SEIFA-POA获得），以促进基于邮政编码（POA）的SES评估。方法：通过利用澳大利亚各地基于邮政编码的排名得出的地区社会经济指数（SEIFA）的百分位数，该工具可以比较1986年至2021年澳大利亚统计局（ABS）人口普查提供的SEIFA指数。基于百分位数的方法保留了各地区在一段时间内的相对社会经济地位，从而避免了在不同人口普查期间SEIFA计算中固有的方法不一致性。该工具简化了SES评估，为研究人员和政策制定者提供了横断面和纵向研究的实用解决方案。结果：在来自澳大利亚的非诺贝特干预和降低糖尿病事件（FIELD）试验的6051名参与者中，我们证明了在参与者的病史中，有利的SES与较低的血管并发症发生率相关。没有观察到SES和试验中并发症之间的关联，可能是由于分析的5年平均时间相对较短。结论：我们的社会经济地位评估工具提供了对社会经济地位差异及其对健康和福祉的影响的更细致的理解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Internal Medicine Journal 医学-医学：内科

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

4.80%

发文量

600

审稿时长

3-6 weeks

期刊介绍： The Internal Medicine Journal is the official journal of the Adult Medicine Division of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP). Its purpose is to publish high-quality internationally competitive peer-reviewed original medical research, both laboratory and clinical, relating to the study and research of human disease. Papers will be considered from all areas of medical practice and science. The Journal also has a major role in continuing medical education and publishes review articles relevant to physician education.