Educational Gradient in Physiological Risk Factors in a Workplace: A decomposition analysis of biomarkers

         
Author Name AIZAWA Toshiaki (Hokkaido University)
Creation Date/NO. May 2022 22-E-046
Research Project Productivity Effects of HRM Policies and Management Quality
Download / Links

Abstract

This study explores educational inequality in a workplace in Japan in relation to physiological risk factors. It investigates the difference in the prevalence rates of being overweight, hypertensive, dyslipidemic or diabetic between male employees who have undergone university education and those who have not. Combining the mandatory annual health check-up data and personnel data, we conduct a decomposition analysis to identify the major factors contributing to the inequality, and we measure the extent to which the observed between-group disparity is associated with the differences in observable characteristics. For all four conditions, significant disparities are observed between the groups. Between-group differences pertaining to alcohol consumption, smoking behaviour, job positions, psychological stress and family structure are the major significant contributing factors behind the between-group disparities in health. The results indicate that, along with a universal health-promoting approach, additional efforts to support less-educated employees should be initiated to mitigate the health inequality.