ABSTRACT
In this chapter we discuss differences between men and women, between people of different ages, and between those in different social classes. But age is related to both sex and social class. Women live longer than men: in our sample 51% of people aged 18–64 were male, but only 38% of people aged 65 and over. In addition older people were more likely than younger ones to be classified as working-class: 63% of those aged 55 and over were classified as working-class, but only 54% of younger people. The association between age and social class probably reflects a decrease over time in the proportion of men in jobs classified as working class (see Reid 1977). Because of these associations our discussion of consultation rates and how they have changed over time considers the inter-relationships with patient’s sex, age, and social class.
