Sunday, December 16, 2012

Poor and poor health

   A study of schizophrenia in east London showed that three environmental factors predicted risk of schizophrenia: Increased deprivation, which includes employment, income, education and crime; increased population density; and an increase in inequality, i.e., the gap between the rich and poor.

“Our research suggests that more densely populated, more deprived and less equal communities experience higher rates of schizophrenia and other similar disorders...Our research adds to a wider and growing body of evidence that inequality seems to be important in affecting many health outcomes, now possibly including serious mental illness,”
said James Kirkbride, Ph.D., lead author of the study from the University of Cambridge. “Our data seems to suggest that both absolute and relative levels of deprivation predict the incidence of schizophrenia."

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