父母的社經地位對兒童的自覺健康、身高與BMI指數的影響

Effects of parental socioeconomic status on child self-reported health, height, and BMI

目標：觀察台灣地區父母社經地位對子女健康之影響。方法：本研究利用2001年台灣國民健康訪問調查建立親子配對資料，分別以序列邏吉斯機率迴歸模型、線性迴歸模型與多元邏吉斯迴歸模型，分析父母社經地位（教育程度與家戶所得）對0~12歲子女健康（自評健康狀況、身高及身體質量指數）的影響。結果：在子女自評健康狀態方面，家庭所得愈高，子女自評健康狀況愈好。在子女身高與身體質量指數方面，母親的教育程度若為高中及大學以上學歷，其子女身高明顯較高，也有較低肥胖的機率；家庭所得較高的子女，體重過重的機率較高，但不致於增加肥胖的機率。另外，母親有全職工作者，其子女健康良好的機率較低，肥胖的機率較高。結論：本研究結果顯示子女健康因父母社經地位不同而有明顯地差異。鑑於父母社經地位對子女未來成年時的健康有直接或間接的影響，為防止健康階層世代移轉，政府應採取一些公共政策改善經濟弱勢兒童的健康，或保護兒童免於受家庭貧困的拖累。

Objectives: The relationship between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and child health was determined. Methods: The relationship between parental SES and child health was empirically investigated using the 2001 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. ＂Selfreported health,＂ ＂height,＂ and ＂body mass index (BMI)＂ were used as health indicators for children 0-12 years of age and linked to the parental SES, as indicated by household income and parent’s education via the ordered and multinomial logit models, respectively. Results: Household income was positively associated with the child’s self-reported health and the likelihood of being overweight. Maternal education had a positive effect on a child’s height and was associated with a lower probability of a child being obese. Conclusions: Our empirical results provide some evidence that a child’s health varies as a function of parental SES. Due to the existence of health gradients in children, the government should adopt policies to promote child health and hamper the transmission of low SES across generations.