Changing to the 2000 Standard Million: Are Declining Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health Real Progress or Statistical Illusion?

OBJECTIVES: This study determined the effects of changing from the 1940 to the 2000 standard million on monitoring socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequalities in health. METHODS: Using the 1940, 1970, and 2000 standard million, we calculated and compared age-adjusted rates for selected health outcomes stratified by socioeconomic level. RESULTS: Changing from the 1940 to the 2000 standard million markedly reduced the age-adjusted relative risks for self-reported fair or poor health status of poor Americans compared with high-income Americans. CONCLUSIONS: Public health researchers and practitioners should give serious consideration to the implications of the change to the 2000 standard million for monitoring social inequalities in health.