Social Stress and Health

This blog has touched upon two important topics in health -- (1) the association between stress and poor health; and (2) the notable health disparities found across people in different social statuses.

Interestingly, recent research has started to find a lot of connections between these two topics. This blog has named some of the reasons why we believe there is distinct health disparities across socioeconomic levels, specifically talking about how citizens with less income have less access to quality medical services. As a result, the health of people in lower socioeconomic levels tend to be poorer, with lower life expectancy, higher rates of cardiovascular disease, higher rates of illnesses, and more negative self-reported health.

New research has focused on a different factor than access to medical services to explain health disparities--stress. People in disadvantaged social statuses experience significantly more stress, and as a result, experience more health problems since stress weakens the immune system and increases the risk of serious illness. Individuals with a lower socioeconomic status deal with more chronic stressors, such as job insecurity, violence, and poorer living conditions. Additionally, people in lower socioeconomic conditions are more likely to experience social stress from prejudice-related situations.

Additionally, humans naturally respond to stress through coping. Coping is a way for our body to mediate the affects of stress on our lives. However, coping behaviors often result in negative health behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, and substance abuse. Increased stress leads to increased rates of smoking, drinking, and other negative health factors.

Overall, people in lower socioeconomic statuses experience more stress in addition to having to deal with less access to quality medical services. This leads to significant health disparities in our society.