A report published recently by the Institute of Public Health has found that the huge inequalities that exist in death rates across the country are paralleled when people are asked about how they feel about their health. Dr Muiris Houston reports.
Inequalities in Perceived Health: a report on the All-Ireland Social Capital and Health Survey explored the complex relationship between people's feelings about their health and the many factors that affect it.
The report found that those with no formal educational qualifications are half as likely as those with third-level education to have very good health. And those with the lowest income are half as likely as those with the highest income to be very satisfied with their health or to have a very good quality of life.
The quality of services in an area also influences how people feel, with a strong link between mental health scores and a person's positive view of local facilities. People who rate their services and facilities poorly are 30 per cent less likely to be very satisfied with their health.
While the research is complex, it does support the general principle that the better a person feels about their "lot" in life, the healthier they will be.
If we are serious about preventing health problems, then action on issues such as education, housing and transport can improve the health of those living in deprived areas.
The facts
• Women in the unemployed socio-economic group are more than twice as likely to give birth to low birth weight children as women in the higher professional group.
• Men in unskilled jobs are twice as likely to die young as higher professionals.
• The incidence of chronic physical illness has been found to be two-and-a-half times higher for poor people than for the wealthy.
• There is a strong link between opiate misuse among 15- to 34-year-olds and the level of deprivation in the area where they live.
• The rate of hospitalisation for mental illness is more than six times higher for people in lower socio-economic groups, compared with those in the higher groups.
• Poorer people are more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol excessively, take less exercise and eat less fruit and vegetables than richer people.
Source: Inequalities in Health in Ireland - Hard Facts. Dept. of Public Health and Primary Care, TCD. Health in Ireland - An unequal State. Public Health Alliance of Ireland.