Social factors have major influence on health: study

Social factors such as education, employment status, and job type have a very strong influence on one's health, an Austrian study released on Tuesday has claimed.

The study was carried out by Statistics Austria on behalf of the Ministry of Health, and is based on the analysis of statistics gathered as part of a health survey in 2014.

The findings show that those on the lower end of these social factors, such as the unemployed or those of lower educational status, are often more prone to health risk factors such as smoking or obesity, and can be less capable of assessing their own health status.

It was noted for instance that 38 percent of women who had only completed compulsory schooling were smokers, compared to 12 percent of women who completed high school or a form of higher education.

For men the figure was 38 percent compared to 17 percent.

Similarly large discrepancies in smoking figures were also present among the unemployed compared to the employed.

Obesity was also noted to be a more common problem for those with lower educational qualifications. Altogether 19 percent of women with lower educational qualifications are troubled by obesity, compared to only seven percent with better educational qualifications, while in men the difference was 24 percent compared to 11 percent.

Other notable risk groups were the long-term unemployed, those with lower income, and persons with a migrant background.