---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 13:19:46 -0500 From: "d.raphael" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Health Promotion on the Internet <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: BUSINESS WEEK: Income Inequality kills the poor November 10, 1997 THE UNHEALTHY U.S. INCOME GAP It's linked to higher levels of illness America has the highest per capita income among the world's leading countries. Yet despite the well-established relationship between people's economic status and their health, the U.S. trails a number of nations in life expectancy and other health indicators. Why this apparent disparity? One clue provided by British economist Richard G. Wilkinson in his recent book, Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality, relates to America's widening gap between rich and poor. Wilkinson argues that health gains in advanced nations are more affected by levels of income inequality than by absolute living standards. His research indicates that life expectancy in such nations is relatively unrelated to average income but tends to be higher in countries with less inequality. Moreover, longevity had risen faster in those with narrowing income gaps than in those with widening ones. Now, Wilkinson's findings have received important corroboration in new studies focusing solely on health indicators within the U.S. itself. In one, a team led by epidemiologist George A. Kaplan, formerly of the California Health Services Dept. and now at the University of Michigan, found there was a strong correlation between statewide mortality rates and the degree of income inequality among the 50 states (measured by the share of income received by the bottom 50% of households within a state). A similar study by researchers at the Harvard University School of Public Health found that income disparities were associated with higher state death rates from cancer, heart disease, infant mortality, and homicide. Since both studies controlled for such factors as average income levels, race, and incidence of poverty, it appears that income gaps affect the health of more than just the poor and racial minorities. Also, while overall U.S. mortality rates fell during the 1980s, the Kaplan group found they fell more slowly in states with the greatest increases in income inequality. Why would income inequality affect health? In a follow-up study published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Harvard researchers find that income inequality is associated with low levels of ''social capital'': That is, residents of states with wider income disparities show less trust of others and lower membership in voluntary organizations and neighborhood groups. The Kaplan study also noted that such states have higher rates of violence and disability, more people lacking health insurance, and less investment in education. Whatever the reason, the apparent relation between income disparities and health seems worrisome--particularly since America's income gap shows little sign of narrowing. BY GENE KORETZ ******************************* * Alex Chis & Claudette Begin * * P.O. Box 2944 * * Fremont, CA 94536 * * 510-489-8554 * * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * ******************************* *************************************************** From new transmitters came the old stupidities. Wisdom was passed on from mouth to mouth. -Bertolt Brecht *************************************************** Dennis Raphael, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Acting Director, Masters of Health Science Program in Health Promotion Department of Public Health Sciences Graduate Department of Community Health University of Toronto McMurrich Building, Room 101 Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5S 1A8