What reports are saying about the health gap between rich & poor Canadians

It has always been known that there is a health gap between the rich and the poor. Most often than not, people blame limited healthcare accessibility as the main reason for this situation. This matter is tackled in Humanosphere.

Though quality health care accessibility could be a big role to the current situation, it is not the only contributing factor.

While health gap between poor and rich is experienced all over the world, from south to north, the health gap of poor and rich Canadians has noticeably increased over time.

There is a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information that tackles between the health inequalities of the poor and the rich people in their country. They used the income level of the Canadians as the basis for the report.

The report divided the Canadians into five different groups according to their average annual income level from the year 1993 to 2011.

The report found out that the rich ones who are getting richer every year. The highest income group heightened their income level by 44 percent from the year 1998. On the other hand, those who are in the lowest income group only increased their earnings by 27 percent.

This scenario - where the rich is getting richer - has something to do with the increasing health gap in Canada. The report included three examples that can prove that this situation is really a factor in the widening health inequality in the country, CBC reported.

Smoking

Adults who belong to the highest income group smoked less year after year. On the other hand, there is no observed decline in the smoking habits of the adults who belong to the lowest income group.

Smoking can lead to different health problems, such as tuberculosis, lung cancer and the likes. Those who smoke more than the others are considered to be at greater risk in being diagnosed with smoke-related illnesses.

Self-Rated Mental Health

The number of Canadian adults who said that their mental health is either fair or poor got bigger in every income level group, except for the highest income level group.

The mental condition of a person also contributes to his overall health and wellness. A person who is strong, fit and physically healthy is still not considered healthy if he is suffering from poor mental health.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD-related hospitalizations for those who are below 75 years old have also been considered. Those who are lowest income earners experience an increase in their COPD-related hospitalization cases. On the other hand, those who are highest income earners were able to decrease it.