Social and Spatial Inequalities in Health in Milan: the Case of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
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SCUOLA DI DOTTORATO UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO-BICOCCA Department of Sociology and Social Research PhD program: URBEUR - Urban Studies (XXXII Cycle) Social and Spatial Inequalities in Health in Milan: the Case of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus PhD Candidate: David Consolazio Registration Number: 713211 Tutor: Prof. David Benassi Co-tutor: Prof. Simone Sarti Coordinator: Prof. Lavinia Bifulco ACADEMIC YEAR 2018-2019 To my mum, she would be so proud. Acknowledgments This work would have not been possible without the support from many people. First of all, I would like to thank David Benassi, wise and rigorous but nonetheless always smiling and fun supervisor, and Simone Sarti, with whom I would talk for hours about sociology and also much less serious stuff. Special thanks go to Marco Terraneo, with whom I had the pleasure to work and learn so much during the last two years, and to Jonathan Pratschke, for his always kind and prompt methodological advices. A very special thank goes to Antonio Russo and the people from the Epidemiology Unit at the ATS Città Metropolitana di Milano: Maria Teresa Greco, Laura Andreoni, Brunella Frammartino, Sara Tunesi, Rossella Murtas, Maria Elena Gattoni, Antonio Riussi, Laura Zettera, Anita Andreano, Monica Sandrini, Federico Gervasi, Angelo Mezzoiuso, Pietro Magnoni, Davide Guido, Adriano Decarli. What a great time I spent in the lovely city of Maastricht! Many thanks to Hans Bosma, Annemarie Koster, Angelique Vermeiren, Isel van Noppen, the whole Social Medicine Department at Maastricht University and the members of De Maastricht Studie. Thanks to my Vijverdalseweg family: Romano, Anne-Gabrielle, Daisy, Kitty, Rachael, Silvia, AK, Evelyn, Eleonora, Jochen, Lio, and to my Raccordement family: Tiago, Ricardo, Peter, Csongor, Matteo, Clara, Katia. And of course, to Clyde, Anindita, and Isabel. Muchas Gracias to the Latinos crew in Essex: José, Alba, Nuria, Juan, Matteo, Paola, Jim, and William. Los quiero mucho… mariposa! Though we spent most of the time believing to be still in high school, a huge thank to my PhD mates Jim McNeil, Luca Calafati, William Otchere-Darko, Roei Bachar, Vanessa Turri. Thanks also to all the friends and colleagues in rooms 208 and 205. Thanks to Casaloca! Thanks also to Luca Bottini, Fabio Quassoli, Marianna D’Ovidio, Gabriele Cerati, Emma Garavaglia, Alberto Vitalini. How could I forget the wonderful people from the Centro Studi Etnografia Digitale? Thanks to Alessandro Caliandro, Adam Arvidsson, Stefania Barina, Massimo Airoldi, Guido Anselmi, Valentina Sturiale, Corina Iamandi, Davide Beraldo, Chiara Francesca Russo, Umberto Pellegrini. Being a southerner, I would need too much space to thank one by one my whole family, so thank you all! Just a special mention for my dad and Paolino, they deserve it. Thanks to all my closest friends. You know who you are, just wait for your beers. The most special of all thanks is for Glo... I bothered her so much with sociology and health inequalities that I still wonder how she did accept to marry me during this PhD adventure! Thanks also to Gindo and Fiona, so tender, lazy and always hungry! I spent three awesome years, and you have been part of them. Thanks. Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................5 1. Social and Spatial Inequalities in Health: an Overview ..................................................8 Introduction ........................................................................................................................8 1.1 Health ......................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Health Differences, Health Inequalities ....................................................................... 13 1.3 Explanations for Health Inequalities ............................................................................ 15 The Artefact Explanation .............................................................................................. 16 Natural and Social Selection ......................................................................................... 16 Materialist or Structural Explanations ........................................................................... 16 Cultural/Behavioural Explanations ................................................................................ 17 1.4 A Theoretical Framework for Health Inequalities ........................................................ 18 1.4.1 The Fundamental Causes Theory.......................................................................... 18 1.4.2 Social Epidemiology ............................................................................................ 23 1.4.3 The Social Determinants of Health ....................................................................... 26 1.5. Spatial Inequalities: Neighbourhood Effects on Health ............................................... 45 1.5.1 Contextual and Compositional Effects .................................................................. 49 1.5.2 Theoretical and Methodological Issues ................................................................. 51 1.5.3 Neighbourhoods and Health: Mechanisms and Pathways ..................................... 52 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 56 2. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus ................................................................................................ 60 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 60 2.1 Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: an Overview ...................................................................... 61 2.1.1 Diabetes Mellitus ................................................................................................. 61 2.1.2 Types of Diabetes Mellitus ................................................................................... 61 2.1.3 Risk Factors for T2DM ........................................................................................ 63 2.1.4 T2DM Management ............................................................................................. 67 2.1.5 T2DM Consequences ........................................................................................... 68 2.2 Trends in Diabetes Prevalence .................................................................................... 70 2.2.1 Worldwide ........................................................................................................... 70 2.2.2 The Italian Case ................................................................................................... 74 2.3 Diabetes and Social Inequalities in Italy ...................................................................... 79 2.3.1 Age and Regional Distribution ............................................................................. 80 2.3.2 T2DM and Education ........................................................................................... 82 2.3.3 Diabetes, Education, Quality of Life..................................................................... 85 2.4 Diabetes and Social Inequalities: Mechanisms in Action ............................................. 89 2.4.1 Socioeconomic and Political Context ................................................................... 90 2.4.2 Structural Determinants and Socioeconomic Position ........................................... 93 2.4.3 Ecological Determinants ...................................................................................... 97 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 99 3. Social and Spatial Inequalities in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Milan: a Multilevel Study ................................................................................................................................. 101 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 101 3.1 Background .............................................................................................................. 101 3.1.1 Individual SES ................................................................................................... 103 3.1.2 Neighbourhood SES ........................................................................................... 104 3.1.3 Defining Neighbourhood .................................................................................... 107 3.1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 109 3.2 Methods .................................................................................................................... 109 3.2.1 Study Population ................................................................................................ 110 3.2.2 Measures ............................................................................................................ 110 3.2.3 Statistical Analysis ............................................................................................. 114 3.2.4 Missing Data .....................................................................................................