Fundamental Cause Theory, Technological Innovation, and Health Disparities: The Case of Cholesterol in the Era of Statins
Dados Bibliográficos
| AUTOR(ES) | |
|---|---|
| AFILIAÇÃO(ÕES) | Diane Lauderdale is Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Health Studies Department and the College at the University of Chicago. Her research interests include social determinants of health behaviors and chronic disease epidemiology., Virginia Chang is an attending physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research integrates perspectives from medicine, sociology, and epidemiology to study the relationships between health and various aspects of sociocultural life. Much of her work... |
| ANO | 2009 |
| TIPO | Artigo |
| PERIÓDICO | Journal of Health and Social Behavior |
| ISSN | 0022-1465 |
| E-ISSN | 2150-6000 |
| EDITORA | JSTOR (United States) |
| DOI | 10.1177/002214650905000301 |
| CITAÇÕES | 29 |
| ADICIONADO EM | 2025-08-18 |
| MD5 |
d1b31793a1422130edccff5d934b959c
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Resumo
Although fundamental cause theory has been highly influential in shaping the research literature on health disparities, there have been few empirical demonstrations of the theory, particularly in dynamic perspective. In this study, we examine how income disparities in cholesterol levels have changed with the emergence of statins, an expensive and potent new drug technology. Using nationally representative data from 1976 to 2004, we find that income gradients for cholesterol were initially positive, but then reversed and became negative in the era of statin use. While the advantaged were previously more likely to have high levels of cholesterol, they are now less likely. We consider our case study against a broader theoretical framework outlining the relationship between technology innovation and health disparities. We find that the influence of technologies on socioeconomic disparities is subject to two important modifiers: (1) the nature of the technological change and (2) the extent of its diffusion and adoption.