May 17, 2020 12:00:00

Mental health improves when becoming rich, but cardiovascular health is the same level as those in need

It is generally believed that wealthier people have a longer healthy life expectancy, as income increases and fewer health problems, which past studies

have shown . But new research reveals that there is a 'hidden trade-off' in the income-health relationship.

Youth Who Achieve Upward Socioeconomic Mobility Display Lower Psychological Distress But Higher Metabolic Syndrome Rates as Adults: Prospective Evidence From Add Health and MIDUS | Journal of the American Heart Association
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.119.015698

Study finds a counterintuitive effect wealth has on health
https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/study-counterintuitive-effect-wealth-has-on-health

Professor Gregory Miller, a psychologist at Northwestern University, analyzed two long-term follow-up studies spanning decades. The participants in the two studies were a total of 9419 Americans, sometime between the ages of 11 and 20 who participated in the study and were followed up until the age of 24-32.

At this time, the subjects were classified into four groups according to their household income in childhood and adulthood: 'always advantageous', 'always disadvantageous', 'experienced improvement of economic situation', 'experienced deterioration of economic situation'. In order to correctly classify, the research team records the educational background of the parents and the usage status of the social welfare system when the subject is adolescent from the child, and annual income of 15,000 dollars (about 1.6 million yen) from the adult Socioeconomic status was measured as a standard.

In addition, researchers compared the subject's financial status and cardiovascular health. The indexes used were the amount of fat in the abdomen, blood pressure, cholesterol level, and blood glucose level, which indicate whether or not they are metabolic syndrome .

The study showed that, as expected, the groups that “experience improved economic conditions” consistently experienced less psychological distress than the “always unfavorable” groups. Many people in the 'experienced economic improvement' group reported the same level of distress as the mentally 'always favorable' group.

On the other hand, it has also been found that groups who 'experience improved economic conditions' are more likely to have metabolic syndrome than 'always lucrative' people. In this regard, the “experienced economic improvement” group had the same health risks as the “always unfavorable” group.

In other words, financial wealth improves mental health, but not necessarily cardiovascular health. 'We have long believed that higher socioeconomic status improves people's health, especially their cardiovascular health. But this study has shown that How a social position can provide healthy benefits depends on how we reach that position. '

Researchers are investigating why such trade-offs occur from a social and environmental perspective. The research team speculates that the reason is 'socio-economically distressed students need more effort to catch up with those who are in a better position and often face stress.' I will.

In previous research, two-thirds of Americans born in the 1940s and 1950s had higher socioeconomic status than their parents, but the proportion of those born in the 1970s and 1980s was halved. Is

shown . In the modern era, tenacity and self-control are needed to improve socioeconomic status, which is a stressor, Miller said. Good treatment of stress factors improves mental health, but since the stress factors themselves do not disappear, it affects the physical body.

The results of this survey show that universities and businesses need to bear in mind these complex causal relationships and create an environment in which students and employees can always feel “supported”. 'People like doctors, lawyers, journalists, financial managers, and engineers are often judged as' now ', but the life after' now 'depends a lot on what they've been up to,' Miller said. Said.