Social inequalities in old age. A life of inequality

Abstract

Editorial Social inequalities in old age. A life of inequalityPublic health research has provided us with information that despite its apparent logic is systematically ignored by politicians. It also goes beyond the scope of health professionals, as the social determinants of health can be much more powerful than and extend far beyond biological determinants 1 . Such social conditioners can be more significant than biological conditioners in the context of disease, and also determine and are a key part of healthy behavior. We live in a world of individualized health problems. Health professionals and campaigns and the vox populi focus on purely individual messages such as don't smoke, go for a walk and take your medication, as though all our health-related behaviors were decided upon consciously and individually, and ignoring the fact that smoking, walking or taking medication can be linked to factors as diverse as family or work stress, poor education, inadequate infrastructure, little time or lack of money.The social determinants of health condition us from birth to death, from the pollution of the neighborhood in which we are born (usually greater in areas where those of a lower social status live), which conditions our neuronal development, to the house where we die, where the lack of an elevator, heating or other facilities can condition and reduce our physical and mental health.