The contribution of health selection to occupational status inequality in Germany - differences by gender and between the public and private sectors

Estimating the size of health inequalities between hierarchical levels of job status and the contribution of direct health selection to these inequalities for men and women in the private and public sector in Germany. The study uses prospective data from the Socio-Economic Panel study on 11,788 women and 11,494 men working in the public and private sector in Germany. Direct selection effects of self-rated health on job status are estimated using fixed-effects linear probability models. The contribution of health selection to overall health-related inequalities between high and low status jobs is calculated. Women in the private sector who report very good health have a 1.9 [95% CI: 0.275; 3.507] percentage point higher probability of securing a high status job than women in poor self-rated health. This direct selection effect constitutes 20.12% of total health inequalities between women in high and low status jobs. For men in the private and men and women in the public sector no relevant health selection effects were identified. The contribution of health selection to total health inequalities between high and low status jobs varies with gender and public versus private sector. Women in the private sector in Germany experience the strongest health selection. Possible explanations are general occupational disadvantages that women have to overcome to secure high status jobs

Large-Eddy Simulation of Combustion Induced Vortex Breakdown in an Unconfined Turbulent Vortex using a Presumed-PDF Combustion Model

The work presents numerical investigations of flame propagation in a free straight vortex. The simulations rely on the LES technique and presumed-PDF combustion modeling with a chemical mechanism reduced by an ILDM approach which has been validated on a number of test cases. Numerical and experimental study confirm that the phenomenon of the Combustion Induced Vortex Breakdown (CIVB) can take place in an unconfined turbulent vortex with a strong inner axial flow. The LES analysis allowed to determine the main physical mechanisms of this phenomenon

The long arm of childhood circumstances on health in old age: Evidence from SHARELIFE

Socioeconomic status (SES) and health during childhood have been consistently observed to be associated with health in old age in many studies. However, the exact mechanisms behind these two associations have not yet been fully understood. The key challenge is to understand how childhood SES and health are associated. Furthermore, data on childhood factors and life course mediators are sometimes unavailable, limiting potential analyses. Using SHARELIFE data (N = 17230) we measure childhood SES and health circumstances, and examine their associations with old age health and their possible pathways via education, adult SES, behavioural risks, and labour market deprivation. We employ structural equation modelling to examine the mechanism of the long lasting impact of childhood SES and health on later life health, and how mediators partly contribute to these associations. The results show that childhood SES is substantially associated with old age health, albeit almost fully mediated by education and adult SES. Childhood health and behavioural risks have a strong effect on old age health, but they do not mediate the association between childhood SES and old age health. Childhood health in contrast retains a strong association with old age health after taking adulthood characteristics into account. This paper discusses the notion of the ‘long arm of childhood’ and concludes that it is a lengthy, mediated, incremental progression rather than a direct effect. Policies should certainly focus on childhood, especially when it comes to addressing childhood health conditions, but our results suggest other important entry points for improving old age health when it comes to socioeconomic determinants

Dimensions of Social Stratification and Their Relation to Mortality : A Comparison Across Gender and Life Course Periods in Finland

Differences in mortality between groups with different socioeconomic positions (SEP) are well-established, but the relative contribution of different SEP measures is unclear. This study compares the correlation between three SEP dimensions and mortality, and investigates differences between gender and age groups (35-59 vs. 60-84). We use an 11% random sample with an 80% oversample of deaths from the Finnish population with information on education, occupational class, individual income, and mortality (n=496,658; 274,316 deaths between 1995 and 2007). We estimate bivariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models and population attributable fractions. The total effects of education are substantially mediated by occupation and income, and the effects of occupation is mediated by income. All dimensions have their own net effect on mortality, but income shows the steepest mortality gradient (HR 1.78, lowest vs. highest quintile). Income is more important for men and occupational class more important among elderly women. Mortality inequalities are generally smaller in older ages, but the relative importance of income increases. In health inequality studies, the use of only one SEP indicator functions well as a broad marker of SEP. However, only analyses of multiple dimensions allow insights into social mechanisms and how they differ between population subgroups.Peer reviewe

Extension of the turbulent spot method towards arbitrary reynolds stresses and integral lengths

The paper presents an extension of the Turbulent Spot method which enables to obey the continuity of the fluctuations while producing arbitrarily high anisotropy at the same time. The derivation of the structures is summarized and expressions for their Reynolds stresses and length scales are presented. Finally, the newly derived structures are applied to a turbulent channel flow simulation and compared with other means of turbulence synthesis

Statistical methods for causal analysis in life course research: an illustration of a cross-lagged structural equation model, a latent growth model, and an autoregressive latent trajectories model

We present three statistical methods for causal analysis in life course research that are able to take into account the order of events and their possible causal relationship: a cross-lagged model, a latent growth model (LGM), and a synthesis of the two, an autoregressive latent trajectories model (ALT). We apply them to a highly relevant causality question in life course and health inequality research: does socioeconomic status (SES) affect health (social causation) or does health affect SES (health selection)? Using retrospective survey data from SHARELIFE covering life courses from childhood to old age, the cross-lagged model suggests an equal importance of social causation and health selection; the LGM stresses the effect of education on health growth; whereas the ALT model confirms no causality. We discuss examples, present short and non-technical introduction of each method, and illustrate them by highlighting their relative strengths for causal life course analysis

What causes health inequality? : a systematic review on the relative importance of social causation and health selection

First published online 18 June 2015. The social gradient in health is one of the most reliable findings in public health research. The two competing hypotheses that try to explain this gradient are known as the social causation and the health selection hypothesis. There is currently no synthesis of the results of studies that test both hypotheses. We provide a systematic review of the literature that has addressed both the health selection and social causation hypotheses between 1994 and 2013 using seven databases following PRISMA rules. The search strategy resulted in 2952 studies, of which, we included 34 in the review. The synthesis of these studies suggests that there is no general preference for either of the hypotheses (12 studies for social causation, 10 for health selection). However, both a narrative synthesis as well as meta-regression results show that studies using indicators for socio-economic status (SES) that are closely related to the labor market find equal support for health selection and social causation, whereas indicators of SES like education and income yield results that are in favor of the social causation hypothesis. High standards in statistical modeling were associated with more support for health selection. The review highlights the fact that the causal mechanisms behind health inequalities are dependent on whether or not the dimension being analyzed closely reflects labor market success. Additionally, further research should strive to improve the statistical modeling of causality, as this might influence the conclusions drawn regarding the relative importance of health selection and social causation

How Migration Status Shapes Susceptibility of Individuals’ Loneliness to Social Isolation

Objectives: Our research provides competing hypotheses and empirical evidence how associations between objectively social isolation and subjective loneliness differ between host populations, migrants, and refugees.Methods: The analysis uses data of 25,171 participants from a random sample of the German population (SOEP v.35). We estimate regression models for the host population, migrants, and refugees and test five hypotheses on the association between social isolation and loneliness using a Bayesian approach in a multiverse framework.Results: We find the strongest relative support for an increased need for social inclusion among refugees, indicated by a higher Bayes factor compared to the hosts and migrants. However, all theoretically developed hypotheses perform poorly in explaining the major pattern in our data: The association of social isolation and loneliness is persistently lower for migrants (0.15 SD−0.29 SD), with similar sizes of associations for refugees and the host population (0.38 SD−0.67 SD).Conclusion: The migration history must be actively considered in health service provision and support programs to better cater to the needs of the different groups

Zweite Welle der IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung: Geflüchtete machen Fortschritte bei Sprache und Beschäftigung

In der BAMF-Kurzanalyse 1|2019 werden erste Erkenntnisse aus der zweiten Erhebung der IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung von Geflüchteten aus dem Jahr 2017 vorgestellt. Dabei geht es um Schutzsuchende, die zwischen 1. Januar 2013 und 31. Dezember 2016 zugezogen sind, und deren Haushaltsmitglieder. Die Gesamtstichprobe umfasst 7.430 erwachsene Personen, die mindestens einmal befragt wurden. In allen untersuchten Bereichen zeichnet sich eine Verbesserung der Integration und Teilhabe von Geflüchteten im Vergleich zum Vorjahr ab.BAMF Brief Analysis 1|2019 presents first findings based on the second wave of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees in 2017. The survey is a longitudinal study of refugees and their household members, who came to Germany between January, 1 2013, and December, 31 2016. The total sample included 7,430 adults who were surveyed at least once. In comparison to the previous year, an improvement in the integration and inclusion of refugees is evident in all the examined areas

The furan microsolvation blind challenge for quantum chemical methods: First steps

© 2018 Author(s). Herein we present the results of a blind challenge to quantum chemical methods in the calculation of dimerization preferences in the low temperature gas phase. The target of study was the first step of the microsolvation of furan, 2-methylfuran and 2,5-dimethylfuran with methanol. The dimers were investigated through IR spectroscopy of a supersonic jet expansion. From the measured bands, it was possible to identify a persistent hydrogen bonding OH-O motif in the predominant species. From the presence of another band, which can be attributed to an OH-π interaction, we were able to assert that the energy gap between the two types of dimers should be less than or close to 1 kJ/mol across the series. These values served as a first evaluation ruler for the 12 entries featured in the challenge. A tentative stricter evaluation of the challenge results is also carried out, combining theoretical and experimental results in order to define a smaller error bar. The process was carried out in a double-blind fashion, with both theory and experimental groups unaware of the results on the other side, with the exception of the 2,5-dimethylfuran system which was featured in an earlier publication