Toward Understanding the Association of Socioeconomic Status and Health

Abstract

The association of socioeconomic status (SES) with morbidity and mortality is a ubiquitous finding in the health literature. One of the principal challenges for biobehavioral researchers is understanding the mechanisms that link SES with health outcomes. This article highlights possible pathways by which SES may influence health. It also provides a discussion of sociodemographic and geographical modifiers of the SES-health relationship and offers several potentially fruitful directions for future research.

Racial Differences in Arterial Stiffness are Mainly Determined by Blood Pressure Levels: Results From the ELSA‐Brasil Study

“…BP level is the strongest determinant of arterial stiffness during the aging process 8. Several studies have reported racial differences in BP,9, 10 and it is known that blacks are more affected by high BP levels than any other racial/ethnic group 11, 12, 13…”

Toward an Understanding of Health Care Delay Among Ethnic Minorities: Examining Health Care Behaviors Among Military Young-Adult Males

“…It has been demonstrated that race and SES are highly correlated. Since measures of social class include education and income, and many minorities in the United States have lower socioeconomic status than Caucasians with regard to many measures of status, ethnic minorities are many times represented at the lower levels of the SES ladder (Anderson & Armstead, 1995). In particular, African Americans have lower income levels, educational attainment, occupational status, and wealth (Williams, 1998).…”

“…There is a graded relationship between SES and health (Adler & Ostrove, 1999;Ginzberg, 1991;Kraus et al, 1980;Tyroler, 1989;Young, 1999). Those lower on the SES ladder, experience poorer health and more complications than those individuals higher in SES (Anderson & Armstead, 1995). SES has been a strong predictor of morbidity and premature mortality (Adler et al, 1993).…”

“…In order to alleviate the problems with inverse relationship between SES and health, many researchers and legislators have suggested providing universal access to care (i.e., universal health insurance) (Anderson & Armstead, 1995). In theory universal health insurance sounds like a panacea to the problem, however, research has indicated that health care utilization among racial minorities is lower even when social class is controlled (Williams & Collins, 1995).…”

Age Differences in Health Effects of Stressors and Perceived Control Among Urban African American Women

“…[1][2][3][4][5] A growing body of research recognizes the role that living in areas of concentrated poverty plays in producing social inequalities in health among different racial and ethnic groups in the United States. [6][7][8][9][10] Areas of concentrated poverty are often found in urban settings and are created through processes of racial segregation and economic disinvestment.…”