Ten-year study suggests wealthy people can live up to nine years longer in good health than poorer people.
This study by researchers at University College London (UCL) tells us that the most financially well-off people tend to live much longer free of illnesses and disabilities than poorer people.
To reach this conclusion, which will no doubt be obvious to many, the researchers analyzed data from over 10,754 UK adults and 14,803 adults Americans aged fifty and over.
These participants were divided into three distinct groups based on their level of wealth. People in the "poor" and "rich" groups were then followed for ten years. The aim was to analyze which social and economic factors could influence the subjects' life expectancy and quality of life.
At the end of this study, it emerged that the wealth gap was the main factor affecting the healthy life expectancy of people. This was the case in both countries.
After the age of 50, the richest men lived about 31 more "healthy" years compared to only 22 years for the poorest people.
The finding is the same for women. The wealthiest lived about 33 more "healthy" years after age 50, compared to 24.6 and 24 years respectively for the poorest women in England and the United States.
“While life expectancy is a useful indicator of health, the quality of life as we age is also crucial “, said Paola Zaninotto, lead author of the study. "Here, inequalities in healthy life expectancy are of a similar magnitude in both countries."
In light of these findings, she suggests that efforts to reduce health inequalities should therefore "target people from lower socio-economic groups “.
This study reminds us of another published by INSEE two years ago. She then suggested that the richest French people live up to thirteen years longer than the poorest.
This work only makes observations. In other words, they do not explain why wealthier people tend to live longer in good health than poorer people. Nevertheless, previous research has already isolated possible explanations. Wealthier people, for example, tend to be better educated than poorer people. Higher educated people have also been found to have fewer 'risky' behaviors than non-graduates. These behaviors include the consumption of cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, for example, which promote premature death.
Other factors may also come into play. People with a higher standard of living may eat better . In addition, they can benefit from better access to health care .
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