Einfluss der Einkommensposition auf die Gesundheit und Lebenserwartung

Income is an important determinant of individual standards of living and participation in social life. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel shows that the level of income also affects a person's health and life expectancy. People's self-assessment of their health and health-related quality of life follow a distribution pattern which can be described as gradient: the lower the income, the more frequent the impairments to subjective health. Life expectancy statistics also reflect income differences, primarily due to premature deaths among lower-income groups. Clues for explaining income-related differences in health and life expectancy can be found in the results on health-related behaviour and use of the medical system.