New Scientist Editorial: 11 February 2010
"Many rightly assume that the poor are relatively unhealthy. But the same goes for almost everyone, save the richest, according to a key review of the effects of health inequalities in England ... the quest for social fairness should begin with child development.
The implications are radical. Based on the knowledge that people with degrees have lower mortality rates than those without, Michael Marmot's team asked what would happen if everybody in England, aged 30 and over, had the mortality rate of graduates. The answer was there would be 202,000 fewer premature deaths each year, accounting for 40 per cent of all deaths. Levelling health disparities in rich nations will have a much bigger impact than focusing on the worst off."
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