Post-millennial trends of socioeconomic inequalities in chronic illness among adults in Germany.

The results for men revealed a significant increase in the extent of socioeconomic inequalities in chronic illness between 2003 and 2012 on both the absolute and relative scales (SII2003 = 0.06, SII2012 = 0.17, p-trend = 0.013; RII2003 = 1.18, RII2012 = 1.57, p-trend = 0.013). In women, similar increases in socioeconomic inequalities in chronic illness were found (SII2003 = 0.05, SII2012 = 0.14, p-trend = 0.022; RII2003 = 1.14, RII2012 = 1.40, p-trend = 0.021). Whereas in men this trend was driven by an increasing prevalence of chronic illness in the low socioeconomic group, the trend in women was predominantly the result of a declining prevalence in the high socioeconomic group.