Wealthy Americans have lower life expectancy than Wealthy Europeans and don't exceed that of some poor Europeans

[Demovictory9]

Richest Americans have lower life expectancy than Europeans

A study confirms that the wealthy live longer than the poor globally, and that differences between social classes are much more pronounced in the US

The study, led by Irene Papanicolas, a professor of health services at the Brown School of Public Health, sampled 73,000 Americans and Europeans aged between 50 and 85. They were followed since 2010 to observe the effect of wealth on an individual’s likelihood of dying. First, it was found that, in both the U.S. and Europe, the rich lived longer than the poor, although the gap was much greater in the United States.

This finding was consistent with previous studies showing that the wealthy live longer, but when the comparison was made across continents, the result was even more surprising. Mortality rates across all wealth levels in the U.S. were higher than in the European regions included in the study. The wealthiest Americans had a lower life expectancy than the wealthiest Europeans, and did not exceed that of the poorest in some European countries such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

It seems that there are very wealthy people who do not have access to a healthcare system as comprehensive as Europe’s”

Papanicolas acknowledges that “there are many differences we observed between the United States and Europe, but it’s not clear how they explain the health advantages of Europeans over Americans.” The study found that many of the determinants associated with longer survival, such as having a college education, not smoking, or being married, are more concentrated among the wealthiest 25% of Americans, which would explain the large gap in life expectancy between rich and poor in that country. In Europe, factors such as education and smoking are more evenly distributed.

“Wealth can influence health by affecting access to education, job opportunities, healthcare, and social networks, all important predictors of health,” the researcher notes. “Possibly, the more generous social safety net in Europe also exerts a protective effect on the survival of those with fewer resources, and wealth status matters less overall,” she adds. “This finding tells us that, although wealth is linked to health everywhere, in Europe, especially in the north and west, less wealth is needed to achieve better life expectancy than in the United States.”

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2025-04-03/richest-americans-have-lower-life-expectancy-than-europeans.html