Health Recently, there has been increasing interest from epidemiologists on the subject of economic inequality and its relation to the health of populations.<unk>  has long been related to health, those higher in the social hierarchy typically enjoy better health than those below.<unk>  is an important source of health inequity, as there is a very robust positive correlation between<unk>  and health. This correlation suggests that it is not only the poor who tend to be sick when everyone else is healthy, but that there is a continual gradient, from the top to the bottom of the<unk>  ladder, relating<unk>  to health. Parents with a low<unk>  cannot afford many of the health care resources which is the reason that their children may have a more advanced illness because of the lack of treatment. This phenomenon is often called the "SES Gradient" or according to the World Health Organisation the "Social Gradient". Lower<unk>  has been linked to chronic stress, heart disease, ulcers, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, certain types of cancer, and premature aging. There is debate regarding the cause of the<unk>  Gradient. Researchers see a definite link between economic<unk>  and mortality due to the greater economic resources of the wealthy, but they find little correlation due to social<unk>  differences. Other researchers such as Richard G. Wilkinson, J. Lynch, and G.A. Kaplan have found that<unk>  strongly affects health even when controlling for economic resources and access to health care. Most famous for linking social<unk>  with health are the Whitehall studies—a series of studies conducted on civil servants in London. The studies found that although all civil servants in England have the same access to health care, there was a strong correlation between social<unk>  and health. The studies found that this relationship remained strong even when controlling for health-affecting habits such as exercise, smoking and drinking. Furthermore, it has been noted that no amount of medical attention will help decrease the likelihood of someone getting type 2 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis—yet both are more common among populations with lower<unk> . Political participation Political scientists have established a consistent relationship between<unk>  and political participation.
Socioeconomic status
Performance status
Family history 
Race and health
Pregnancy category
History of birth control
Psychiatric history
Body mass index