The more you earn, the longer you will live
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A study by researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois shows that Americans who earn more live longer than those with low incomes. The study was conducted over nearly a quarter-century. “Money may not make you happy, but it can buy you a longer life. Every $50,000 in income reduces the risk of death by five percent,” said StudyFinds, an organization that publishes summarized versions of studies to spark debate.
StudyFinds points out that the COVID-19 pandemic widened the wealth gap. Amid the woes, the number of millionaires in the U.S. increased by 5.2 million last year - to more than 56 million. Mortality rates fell by five percent for every additional $50,000 of net worth accumulated during middle age. StudyFinds draws the conclusion that wealth leads to good health, rather than being a reflection of inherited traits or early family experiences.
The first such analysis used data from the Midlife in the United States project (MIDUS), which conducts research on aging. Information on participants, with an average age of 46, was collected from 1994 to 1996. They were monitored until 2018. By that time, just over 1,000, or nearly one-fifth of the study’s participants, had died.
Study author Greg Miller commented that “too many American families live from paycheck to paycheck with little or no financial savings to draw on when needed. (...) At the same time, wealth inequality has risen sharply. Our results suggest that wealth accumulation is important for health at the individual level,” Miller emphasized. "
