PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - S. Shohaimi
AU  - A. Welch
AU  - S. Bingham
AU  - R. Luben
AU  - N. Day
AU  - N. Wareham
AU  - K‐T. Khaw
TI  - Area deprivation predicts lung function independently of education and social class
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.04.00088303
DP  - 2004 Jul 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 157--161
VI  - 24
IP  - 1
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/24/1/157.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/24/1/157.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2004 Jul 01; 24
AB  - The cross-sectional association between socioeconomic status (at both the individual and area-based level) and lung function, as measured by forced expiratory volume in one second, in a large population-based cohort was investigated. The study population consisted of 22,675 males and females aged 39–79 yrs. They were recruited from the general community in Norfolk, UK using general practice age/sex registers, as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk). It was found that being in a manual occupational social class, having no educational qualifications and living in a deprived area all independently predicted significantly lower lung function, even after controlling for smoking habit. The influence of area-deprivation on lung function, independent of individual socioeconomic status and of individual smoking habit, suggests that apart from targeting individuals who are at high-risk, such as smokers, environmental determinants also need to be examined when considering measures to improve respiratory health.