How Wealth Links to Health: Testing Theories to Explain Socioeconomic Disparities in Disease and Death

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain how socioeconomic status translates into different health outcomes, especially in the context of the industrialized world. This study sought to examine the relative merit of two theoretical explanations, Relative Deprivation and Fundamental Cause, as to whether material resources or psychosocial processes matter more in mediating the associations between SES, health, and longevity. To test the relative contribution of each perspective, gender-specific prospective cohorts were constructed using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) dataset. Results indicate relative position is not found to act as the primary mechanism through which social conditions influence health outcomes. While health-related resource utilization as measured is not found to mediate the SES-health association, results indicate that resource utilization is linked to both SES and health outcomes. Further research tooperationalize the proposed mechanisms is recommended.