Health status in a transitional society: urban-rural disparities from a dynamic perspective in China

BACKGROUND: The phenomenon of urban-rural segmentation has emerged and is remarkable, and the health disparities between rural and urban China should be stressed. METHODS: Based on data from the Chinese General Social Survey from 2005 to 2013, this study not only explored the net age, period, and cohort effects of self-rated health, but compared these effects between rural and urban China from a dynamic perspective through hierarchical age-period-cohort-cross-classified random effects model. RESULTS: Urban-rural disparities, as well as work status and gender disparities in health increased with age, in line with the cumulative advantage/disadvantage effects theory, while marital status disparities in health declining with age was in line with the age-as-leveler effects theory. The war cohort, famine cohort, later cultural revolution cohort, and early reform cohort had poorer health than did those in the early China cohort, economic recovery cohort, and later reform cohort. The economic crisis period, war cohort, baby boomer, and early cultural revolution cohort encountered larger urban-rural health disparities, while the early China cohort and early reform cohort experienced smaller urban-rural disparities in health. CONCLUSIONS: Population health is closely related to social context and health care development. It is necessary to keep economic development stable and boost medical technology improvements and the construction of the health care system.