Kim and Ruger BMC Public Health 2010, 10:195 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/195 position in Geneva, Switzerland, 1993-2000: health inequalities persist. Am J Public Health 2003, 93(8):1302-1309. 37. Sen A: Health: perception versus observation. BMJ 2002, 324:860-861. 38. Kwon TH: The trends and patterns of mortality and health in the Republic of Korea. Asian Population Studies Series No. 76 Bangkok: Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific; 1986:26. 39. Kim TH: Mortality transition in Korea: 1960-1980. The Population and Development Studies Center Seoul: Seoul National University; 1990. 40. Khang YH, Kim HR: Explaining socioeconomic inequality in mortality among South Koreans: an examination of multiple pathways in a nationally representative longitudinal study. Int J Epidemiol 2005, 34(3):630-637. 41. Atkinson AB, Rainwater L, Smeeding T: Income distribution in OECD countries: evidence from the Luxembourg income study. Social Policy Studies No.18 Paris: OECD; 1995. 42. Oh SW, Shin S, Yun YH, Yoo T, Huh B: Cut-off point of BMI and obesity- related comorbidities and mortality in middle-aged Koreans. Obes Res 2004, 12:2031-2040. 43. World Health Organization Western Pacific Region, International Association for the Study of Obesity and International Obesity Task Force: The Asian-Pacific perspective: redefining obesity and its treatment. Geneva 2000. 44. Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs: The Report of the Korean Nationwide Health and Nutritional Examination Survey in 2001. Seoul; 2003. 45. SAS: SAS/STAT user's guide version 8 Cary, NC: SAS Institute; 2000. 46. Kim C, Lee S, Moon O: Inequalities in cancer incidence and mortality across income groups and policy implications in South Korea. Public Health 2008, 122:229-236. 47. Song Y, Ferrer RL, Cho S, Sung J, Ebrahim S, Smith GD: Socioeconomic status and cardiovascular disease among men: The Korean National Health Service prospective cohort study. Am J Public Health 2006, 96(1):152-159. 48. Marshall G, Swift A: On the meaning and measurement of inequality. Acta Sociol 1999, 42:241-250. 49. Prandy K: Class, stratification and inequalities in health: a comparison of the Registrar-General's social classes and the Cambridge scale. Sociol Health Ill 1999, 21(4):466-484. 50. Chun H, Khang Y, Kim I, Cho S: Explaining gender differences in ill-health in South Korea: The roles of socio-structural, psychosocial, and behavioral factors. Soc Sci Med 2008, 67:988-1001. 51. Kim M, Kim C, Park J, Kawachi I: Is precarious employment damaging to self-rated health? Results of propensity score matching methods, using longitudinal data in South Korea. Soc Sci Med 2008, 67:1982-1994. 52. Kim I, Khang Y, Muntaner C, Chun H, Cho S: Gender, precarious work, and chronic diseases in South Korea. Am J Ind Med 2008, 51:748-757. 53. Hausmann R, Tyson LD: The Global Gender Gap in 2008 Geneva: World Economic Forum; 2008. 54. Sun W: Policy direction of medical services for the elderly. Health Welfare Forum 2000, 40:44-53. 55. Shin Y: Stabilizing finance of the public health insurance. Health Welfare Forum 2000, 45:21-31. 56. Marmot MG, Smith GD, Stansfeld S, Patel C, North F, Head J, White I, Brunner E, Feeney A: Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study. Lancet 1991, 337:1387-1393. Pre-publication history The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/195/prepub doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-195 Cite this article as: Kim and Ruger, Socioeconomic disparities in behavioral risk factors and health outcomes by gender in the Republic of Korea BMC Public Health 2010, 10:195 Page 19 of 19