Where You Live Affects How Long You Live

Robert W. Griffith, MD

Of course, like so many things in this modern life, it depends how rich (or poor) you are. Being poor in a rich neighborhood may be a health risk according to a recent report in the American Journal of Public Health. San Francisco researchers examined the influence of neighborhood-level socioeconomic status on mortality, in comparison to the individuals' socioeconomic status. They studied mortality in over 8,000 men and women from 82 neighborhoods in 4 Californian cities.

Death rates of both women and men with low socioeconomic status were highest in 'wealthy' neighborhoods, lower in moderately wealthy neighborhoods, and lowest in poorer neighborhoods. These differences were not explained by the individuals' educational and economic status, or by their health risk factors. As one of the investigator says, poorer people living in rich neighborhoods "do not benefit from the higher quality of resources and knowledge" of their neighbors.

In looking for a cause or causes for the findings, the researchers found that the low-income group living in the high-income neighborhoods had better education, higher incomes, less obesity, and a greater health knowledge, but were older and had a higher rate of high blood pressure than their poor people living in a poor neighborhood. Maybe the benefits of 'moving up' are accompanied by the stress of trying to 'keep up with the Joneses'? Or their lower income means they have to work extra hours (or jobs) to be able to keep up.

This information should help public health programs focus more on a population at risk in their wealthier neighborhoods . . .

Source
HealthandAge Blog

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