The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status, Stress, & Health
Butler University – PE322 Concepts in Health Education
Fall 2021
Zac Lantz
Introduction
A prevalent theme among the problems the health industry faces continue
to be in relation with health disparities. A health disparity is any
inconsistencies in a health outcome between different populations. A
disparity can occur based race or ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, age,
disability, socioeconomic status, geographic location, as well as other
contributing factors, (Health Disparities Overview). The purpose of this
poster is to present how socioeconomic status can affect the stress levels
and the health of an individual.
Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic status, or SES, factors in education, occupation, and
income levels to split individuals and/or groups into classes. The U.S.
Census Bureau conducted a survey of the current population in 2005 and it
showed that those with a higher education are generally placed in a higher
economic class, as shown in figure 3.1. In addition, those with a higher
economic status and/or higher educational status have a decreased risk of
dying by any cause, as shown in figures 3.2 and 3.3, (Barr, 2007).
Socioeconomic status also directly relates with tangible factors such as
owning a vehicle, owning, or renting a home, and manual vs non-manual
occupation. “Mortality rates generally increased in a stepwise fashion from
those who owned a car, owned their home, and worked in a non-manual
occupation (with the lowest mortality rate) to those who did not own a car,
rented their home, and worked in a manual occupation (with the highest
mortality rate),” (Barr, 2007, p. 58). An individual who has a low SES is at a
greater risk for poor health and even death.
Socioeconomic Status and Stress
It is clear that socioeconomic disadvantages are linked with poorer health;
one culprit of that disparity may be stress. A low SES is “associated with a
number of important social and environmental conditions that contribute to
chronic stress burden, including crowding, crime, noise pollution,
discrimination, and other hazards or stressors,” (Baum et al., 1999). There
is a direct correlation between crime and poverty (a low SES indicator).
Gerais World Bank conducted a 30-year study of 39 different countries. The
study compared the crime rates, specifically homicides and robberies, and
income inequalities of the locations observed. They found that “crime rates
and [income] inequality are positively correlated within countries and,
particularly, between countries, and this correlation reflects causation from
[income] inequality to crime rates, even after controlling for other crime
determinants, (Fajnzylber, P et al., 2002). Crime rates being high in areas
of poverty creates a greater amount of stress for individuals living in those
areas. That stress can quickly turn chronic once all of the other stressors
are factored into one’s life when living with a low SES.
Stress in the Body
When an individual senses a stress the first location to pick up on it is the
hypothalamus. The hypothalamus then sends a message though the
pituitary gland and it eventually reaches the adrenal gland. When the
adrenal gland is notified, it sends out hormones throughout the body;
these hormones are known as epinephrine and norepinephrine, or more
commonly referred to as adrenaline. The rush of adrenaline these
hormones cause results in an elevated heart rate, an increased respiratory
rate, and prepares the body for a fight or flight situation. In addition to
epinephrine and norepinephrine, the adrenal gland also releases cortisol
into the body. Cortisol lingers in the body and its effects last much longer
than those felt from the initial adrenaline rush. An individual who is
experiencing a repeated number of stressors, otherwise known as chronic
stress, never allows the body to retract the cortisol spread throughout it in
order to return to a point of homeostasis. (Barr, 2007).
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Chronic Stress
Chronic stress has shown to cause a multitude of physical problems
including “a weakened immune system, strain on the heart, damage of
memory cells in the brain, and an increased deposit of fat at the waist
rather than the hips and buttocks (a risk factor for heart disease, cancer,
and other illnesses),” (Barr, 2007, p. 74). As shown in figure 4.4,
chronically elevated stress levels can directly lead to an increased rate of
disease as well as an overall decrease in health.
Behavioral Responses to Stress
Chronic stress alone can chemically wreak havoc on the body and cause a
multitude of problems as stated above. In addition, chronic stress is
generally paired with a behavioral response from the patient. Studies have
shown that those who have not obtained a post-secondary education (a low
SES indicator) are more likely to use tobacco products, disregard seatbelts,
and live a sedentary lifestyle, therefore contributing to higher obesity rates.
Families with a low SES have also been shown to consume alcohol and
abuse substances more than those with a higher SES, (Baum et al., 1999).
Heavy alcohol consumption greatly increases one’s chances of health
problems including “infectious diseases, cancer, diabetes, neuropsychiatric
diseases (including alcohol use disorders), cardiovascular disease, liver
and pancreas disease, and unintentional and intentional injury,” (Rehm,
2011). Alcohol use alone contributes to 95,000 deaths every year in the
United States, (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). When
other negative chronic stress coping mechanisms are implemented by an
individual with a low SES, even worse health results follow.
Conclusion
A large factor affecting health disparities is socioeconomic status, or SES.
Of the many ways SES affects an induvials health, stress proves to have a
large impact. People living in a low SES state experience an increased
number of stressors when compared to people living in middle or high SES
states. That increase of stressors leads to a condition known as chronic
stress. Chronic stress can lead to a host of health problems as well as can
the coping mechanisms associated with chronic stress. As seen in figure
4.5, through that linkage, it is clear that a low SES can directly correlate
with a decrease in quality of health.
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