# Understanding Social Inequalities in Health

*Marmot · Power & Equity · Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · 2003 · Paywalled*

Reviews the evidence for the social gradient in health — the finding that health and mortality worsen with every step down the social hierarchy, not just at the poverty threshold. Draws on the Whitehall studies to show that relative position, control, and social participation shape health outcomes independently of absolute deprivation. Argues that early life experiences and social environment are central to causality, with implications for policy far beyond healthcare.

- **This page:** https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/marmot-2003/
- **View the source paper:** https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14563071/
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## Connected concepts (7)

- [Employment Grade and Coronary Heart Disease in British Civil Servants](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/marmot-1978.md) (paper)
- [An Uncertainty Management Perspective on Long-Run Impacts of Adversity: The Influence of Childhood Socioeconomic Status on Risk, Time, and Social Preferences](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/amir-jordan-rand-2018.md) (paper)
- [Childhood SES & PS](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/childhood-ses-workplace-risks.md)
- [Employment Rights & PS](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/employment-protections-and-psychological-safety.md)
- [Good Management Saves Lives](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/good-management-saves-lives.md)
- [SES & Interpersonal Risk](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/socioeconomic-background-affects-our-appetite-to-take-interpersonal-risks-at-work.md)
- [Work Doesn't Have to Suck](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/work-doesnt-have-to-suck.md)