Poverty is the number one killer in this world . Malnutrition, infectious diseases , poor maternal child and health are the leading killers. The life expectancy is short in many underdeveloped countries.
While the scenario is dismal for most of the poor people in this world.
Can affulence be a risk factor for poor health ?
Yes. This seemingly awkward answer is many times true. The disease acquired by affluence is labeled attractively as life style diseases . They are : Obesity, Diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, some forms of cancer etc .
How else can affluence affect the health of an individual ?
Apart from affluence being a risk factor , it is a powerful risk factor for getting inappropriate medicines, procedures & surgeries , hence the resultant adverse effects.
It is a non-established fact , in both developed and developing world , the single important predictor of a given form of treatment say revascualrisation or surgery for CAD is affordability to the treatment (Either by insurance or self payment) .Financial well being , interferes with applying valid scientific principles on them . Applying the results of the land mark trials CAD trials , COURAGE & BARI 2D are very difficult for them , which argues for simple , less costly , less glamorous medical therapy for CAD.
Example 1
A wealthy adult male who lands up for master health check up in a big state of the art hospital found to have a borderline stress test , CAG reveals a single vessel distal RCA disease .He was given an option of PCI , undergoes it , and ends up in a complication and damages his entire inferior myocardial territory.
Had he been a poor uninsured guy , he would have promptly be labeled as stable CAD and would have been on good medical therapy* and his myocardium could have been saved .
* PCI can never be an option for him , courtesy : His wealth status !
Mind you , this is not an isolated example, such affordability guided treatment modalities are rampant in the society and has a potential to make our rich and affluent a major health risk target !
Final message
Being wealthy and affluent can also be a health risk factor. While the poor suffer from lack of health care the rich many times suffer because of too much health care ! (or Is it care less , health care ?)
Coming Soon
How reccession time is a boon for human health !
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 