Male Smoking Never Ex Current Alcohol No Moderate Heavy Obesity No Obesity Exercise No Regular Sleeping Not Adequate 91.99 1.85 6.16 33.05 33.58 33.38 67.36 32.64 67.36 32.64 46.55 53.45 88.75 4.14 7.10 23.47 35.59 40.94 52.81 47.19 52.81 47.19 41.30 58.70 91.22 3.05 5.72 24.22 35.12 40.66 50.51 49.49 50.51 49.49 38.63 61.37 94.26 3.13 2.61 29.24 40.05 30.71 45.77 54.23 45.77 54.23 35.03 64.97 13.85 34.43 51.73 15.24 13.26 71.50 62.87 37.13 50.65 49.35 40.74 59.26 12.62 30.87 56.51 17.74 13.81 68.45 80.23 19.67 61.68 38.32 34.11 65.89 11.06 28.17 60.77 18.67 10.54 70.79 71.97 28.03 65.52 34.48 37.86 62.14 15.71 31.62 52.67 13.83 11.14 75.03 59.26 40.74 60.77 39.23 36.48 63.52 9.24 28.67 62.09 9.66 14.79 75.57 60.10 39.90 53.85 46.15 39.38 60.62 18.50 31.66 49.84 9.75 13.36 76.89 58.59 41.41 42.33 57.67 43.63. 56.37 90.27 3.96 5.77 36.03 32.49 31.48 67.80 32.20 56.39 43.61 42.42 57.58 91.55 0.51 7.94 37.64 27.76 34.60 70.64 29.36 70.64 29.36 43.34 56.66 χ2 = 577.34(p < .01, df = 8) χ2 = 1030.22(p < .01, df = 8) χ2 = 258.29(p < .01, df = 4) χ2 = 3614.32(p < .01, df = 4) χ2 = 1719.36(p < .01, df = 4) χ2 = 1651.81(p < .01, df = 4) Kim and Ruger BMC Public Health 2010, 10:195 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/195 Page 9 of 19 Table 4: Age-adjusted Educational Disparities in Behavioral Risk Factors by Gender (2005) Female All Illiterate Elemen (%) Middle High College & above All Illiterate Elemen (%) Middle High College & above χ2 = 1445.77(p < .01, df = 8) χ2 = 576.25(p < .01, df = 8) χ2 = 209.37(p < .01, df = 4) χ2 = 438.62(p < .01, df = 4) especially steep among women, and although the educa- tional gradient continues to exist in 2005, the gender gap has reduced. An education gradient was also seen for the odds of lower self-reported health status, although it was not as steep as in the morbidity data, even among women; ORs for lower self-reported health was 2.9:1 for illiterate versus college and above level females (2.2 for men) in 1998, and the ratio increased slightly to 3.3:1 (2.7 for men) in 2005. The income gradient in adjusted odds ratios was not as steep as for education in the 1998 data, although a weak gradient did exist and again was more pronounced among women than men. In 1998, the OR of morbidity from lowest to highest income quintile in women was 1.9:1 and the OR of self-reported health from lowest to highest income quintile in women was 1.6:1. The OR of morbidity from lowest to highest income quintile in men was 1.2:1 and the OR of self-reported health from lowest to highest income quintile was 1.3:1 in 1998. The income gradient in ORs in self-reported health among both men and women increased from 1998 to 2005; the OR for lower self-reported health status increased from 1.3:1 to 2.3:1 for males and from 1.6:1 to 2.3:1 for females. The findings for occupational classification were less clear cut in 1998; while adjusted odds ratios for the lowest versus the highest class were significant (1.5:1 for mor- bidity for both males and females and roughly 1.2:1 for self-reported health for both males and females), the gra- dient did not exist such that those in the second highest class, and in some cases the third highest class, had greater adjusted ORs than the highest occupational class. In 2005, the greatest inequality between the lowest and highest occupational classes occurred between Classes V and I for self reported health (with an OR of 4.7:1 in women and 1.8 in men) and for morbidity (with an OR of 3.0 in women and 1.9 in men). Discussion Substantial research has focused on the relationship between socioeconomic position and health status, although few studies have been conducted in Asian coun- tries. Moreover, health outcome measures used in Korea