Socioeconomic Status and Health in Industrial Nations: Social, Psychological, and Biological Pathways (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a powerful determinate of a person's health, and this effect is felt along the entire range of SES, not just at the extremes of wealth and poverty. In this volume, the full spectrum of biological, psychological, and social pathways by which SES may influence health are explored. Questions addressed include: Is the effect the same in all populations? Does SES affect health or vice versa? Does the gradient occur for all diseases? Policies that could address the social inequalities associated with the gradient and their impact on health are also discussed. Recent studies have shown that income disparity in the United States is increasing, a state of affairs likely to exacerbate health disparities. As policies are developed at the federal, state, and local levels, the findings presented in this timely book may provide needed information about the relationship between socioeconomic status and health.