Status-health
connection depends, in part, on what it takes to get ahead
Date: December 17, 2018
Source: Duke University
A growing
body of evidence shows that those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder are
more likely to die prematurely than those at the top. The pattern isn't unique
to humans: Across many social animals, the lower an individual's social status,
the worse its health.
That's
probably proof that these gaps aren't fully explained by risk factors commonly
attributed to humans, such as smoking, drinking or access to medical care, says
Jenny Tung, associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke
University.
What's
trickier to determine is what causes what: Does the stress of low status make
you sick? Or is it the other way around: does being sickly make it harder to
get ahead and stay there?
New
research by Tung, Princeton University's Amanda Lea and colleagues suggests the
answer depends, in part, on how the pecking order comes to be. The findings
come from a study of 61 wild baboons in Kenya, where females 'inherit' their
status, but males must fight their way to the top.
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