Are Wealth and Health Really Related?

Think your job is killing you? You might have something there, especially if you’re underpaid and overworked.

There’s a new buzz in the public health sector about the relationship between health and wealth, something many people feel is an issue of social justice. In response, the Health Wealth Coalition, a diverse group of practitioners and researchers, held meetings in Oakland, CA, during June and August to ascertain the roots of the financial health divide. (The Coalition will convene again in October.)

Meanwhile, at EARN, we’ve also been examining the wealth–health connection. Harnessing the power of multivariate statistical analyses, we’ve examined recently released data on a representative sample of the United States – a full 428,000 people — from the Center for Disease Control.  When these people’s health is graphed relative to their age and income, the wealth–health connection is plain to see.

One of the interesting aspects of the wealth–health connection is that wealth can be defined in terms of non-material assets. Yes, health and income are correlated. But so are health and education.

According to our research, people with less than a high school education fared the worst in terms of health as they aged. People with a high school education and, possibly, some college fared in-between, while those with a four-year college degree or higher enjoyed the best health during their lifetimes.

Life satisfaction was also positively associated with both income and education, implying that the two assets can also offer psychological benefits.

On September 8, I’ll be joining EARN Vice President Camille Busette in presenting these and other findings in a new webinar, “Do Financial Assets Matter for Health?”  We encourage you to join us and learn more about this cutting-edge field.

But our research won’t stop on September 8. The EARN Research Institute that launches at the end of this month will carry out longitudinal research to track down the wealth–health connection and investigate ways to optimally improve people’s physical and psychological health through innovative financial programs and services. Stay tuned!

Until Next Week,

William M.  Lapp, Ph.D.
EARN Research Manager

Photo credit: rocknroll_guitar