Benjamin Franklin's adage linking health and wealth has persisted through time, suggesting that financial security correlates with better health and increased lifespan. A recent study delves into this relationship, specifically exploring the impact of wealth inequality on longevity in the U.S. and considering potential increases in lifespan associated with reduced wealth inequality.
social determinants of health
Medicine aims to identify social determinants of health (SODH) and level the playing field of outcomes so that we all receive equitable care. But measuring disparities is not as easy as it might seem. A meta-analysis of prostate surgery suggests more equality than disparity.
Just as healthcare systems seek to maintain their tax-exempt status by providing “community services,” health insurers seek to dispense their largesse on the corporate term for those community services – the social determinants of health. A new study suggests that, like those not-for-profit, tax-exempt healthcare systems, the money flowing to social determinants is more for appearances. How surprising.
Could your parents' social circles increase or decrease your lifespan? Are some really born with a “silver spoon” in their mouths?
As the drumbeats for health systems to treat the socioeconomic determinants of health grows louder -- and administrators eye an enlarging “mission” and the funds that come with it -- ask yourself this: What exactly are those determinants? A new study provides some tentative answers.
SDOH, the social determinants of health, have gotten significant press during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been much discussed in medical and healthcare circles for the last few years. And some feel that like similarly positioned telemedicine, SDOH is about to have its moment.
Loneliness, as compared to solitude, resulted in a 2-to-3 fold increase in one-year mortality. For social creatures like us, loneliness can detrimentally affect our health.
Flawed, idealized metrics like life expectancy are often used to report success of a nation or its health delivery apparatus. A new study suggests the lion's share of curbing premature death may not reside there.