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People with lower socio economic status may have shorter lifespan, says study
Posted on: 05/Feb/2017 11:35:56 AM
A new study has said that people on the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder may live two years less on average than those at the top. The study was conducted by Lifepath, a European Commission-funded consortium, and was published in the Lancet.
According to the authors of the study, This makes social rank a bigger risk factor for illness and premature death than either high alcohol consumption or obesity, and it nearly equals the risk posed by physical inactivity. On average, a low social rank shaved over 25 months off the average lifespan, compared with six months for heavy alcohol intake and eight months for obesity. For diabetes, the risk was almost four years in lost life, and for smoking nearly five. The study was the first attempt to weigh the health risk of socioeconomic status against other modifiable factors at least in high-income countries. Low socioeconomic status is one of the strongest predictors of premature mortality worldwide, but health policymakers often do not consider it a risk factor to target. Because these circumstances are modifiable, they should be included in the list of risk factors targeted by global health strategies. Smoking, drinking and physical inactivity are already the focus of national and global public health policies. Social rank could be improved by government policies on tax or education, for example.
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