May 06, 2024
Family health history and lifestyle habits can be key indicators when it comes to determining someone’s risk of developing certain diseases and health conditions. But socioeconomic factors also play a significant role in shaping health outcomes.
Socioeconomic status is a way of describing people based on their education, income, and occupation. Because of structural racism and institutional discrimination, certain groups are more likely to face socioeconomic inequities, including lower education levels, fewer occupational opportunities, and lower incomes. These factors can limit a person’s access to quality health care, nutritious food, safe housing, and other essential resources needed for living a healthy life.
A study of 1.7 million people in seven countries found that people with low socioeconomic status were 46 percent more likely to die early than their wealthier counterparts. The study also determined that a low socioeconomic status reduced life expectancy 2.1 years. That’s about the same as a sedentary lifestyle but lower than smoking (4.8 years) and diabetes (3.9 years).
In the U.S., a study of more than 180,000 people from five ethnic groups in Hawaii and California found that lower socioeconomic status was associated with a higher risk of death in every group — even after accounting for age and behaviors like diet, exercise, and smoking.
Wealth and income are major determinants of socioeconomic status. Asian and white households on average are much wealthier than households of other races. In December 2021, median net worth per household varied significantly based on race:
• Asian: $320,900
• White: $250,400
• Multiracial: $82,500
• Hispanic: $48,700
• Black: $27,100
The median household income in 2022 followed a similar trend:
• Asian: $108,700
• White: $81,060
• Hispanic: $62,800
• Black: $52,860
Education also plays a big role in socioeconomic status. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of people over 25 years old with a high school degree in 2021 was:
• 95.1% for white people
• 92.9% for Asian people
• 90.3% for Black people
• 74.2% for Hispanic people
The percentage of people 25 and up with at least a bachelor’s degree was:
• 61% for Asian people
• 41.9% for white people
• 28.1% for Black people
• 20.6% for Hispanic people
Given these income, wealth, and education gaps, it's no surprise that Black people and Hispanic people tend to have worse health outcomes than white people and Asian people.
A study looked at how people of color compared to their white counterparts across a broad range of measures of health, health care, and social determinants of health (the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age that affect their health). The study found that Black people, Hispanics, and Native Americans and Alaska Natives (NAAN) did worse on all three.
Among the study’s findings:
• NAANs and Black people had a shorter life expectancy (65.2 and 70.8 years, respectively) at birth than their white counterparts (76.4 years) as of 2021.
• Black infants were more than twice as likely to die as white infants, and NAAN infants were nearly twice as likely to die as white infants.
• Black and NAAN women had the highest rates of pregnancy-related mortality.
If people of all races had the same socioeconomic status, you might expect that they would have the same health outcomes. But while that likely would reduce the health inequities, research indicates it wouldn’t eliminate them.
For example, a study by Ohio State University researchers found a stronger link between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular health among white adults than among adults of other races and ethnicities. In other words, having a higher socioeconomic status benefits white adults more in terms of heart health than it does Black, Hispanic, and Asian American adults.
That tracks with a report in the journal "Healthcare," which found that a higher income protects white people against chronic medical conditions more than it protects Black people.
A Duke University study, meanwhile, showed that babies born to Black women with doctorates or professional degrees are about three times more likely to die than babies born to white women with only high school diplomas or GEDs.
Health inequities still exist even when people of different races have similar wealth, income, and educational opportunities. While many of these health gaps lie beyond individual people's control, there are ways for members of communities of color to improve their chances of experiencing good health outcomes. They include getting regular exercise, sleeping 7 to 8 hours each night, eating a healthy diet, reducing stress, limiting alcohol, and quitting smoking.
There is still much more that needs to be done to make sure everyone in the United States receives the equal opportunities they deserve. This includes addressing structural racism, improving access to health care services, and encouraging healthy lifestyle habits. Together, we can work towards a future where everyone has the same ability to lead a healthy life — regardless of socioeconomic status.
