Obesity, cancer, maternal mortality… Social inequalities in health persist

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The poorest French people are more likely to develop chronic diseases.

HEALTH – Obesity, cancermaternal mortality… inequality remain within the system of health, according to the 2022 report on the state of health of the population in France, published this Wednesday, September 21, by the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES). They concern in particular chronic diseasesthe renunciation of care or the realization of screening tests… And this from an early age.

The disparities are marked according to the socio-professional category of the families. Children born to working-class parents are twice as likely to find themselves overweight in the large kindergarten section than the children of executives, notes the DREES. Although the prevalence of vision problems is identical, the children of manual workers are less likely than those of executives to wear glasses (31% against 37%).

The risk of developing a chronic disease throughout one’s life, with the exception of certain cancers, is higher in the poorest people. The poorest 10% of French people thus develop diabetes 2.8 times more often than the wealthiest 10%. The increased risk of developing a chronic disease of the liver or pancreas is also 2.4 points for the poorest compared to the wealthiest. It is 2 points for psychiatric illnesses.

Less detected cancers in the poorest

Only the case of cancers stands out: they occur “slightly less frequently among people with the lowest standards of living”. Wealthy people are “often treated for prostate and breast cancer”and people low on lung cancer according to the report.

But this can be explained by a lower use of screening tests: in 2019, women aged 50 to 74 who had never had a mammogram were 24% among the wealthiest against 39% among the most precarious. The renunciation of care also affects the most modest more, accentuated by the medical deserts in certain territories.

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Another major inequality: women residing in the DROMs (Overseas Departments and Regions) present a risk of maternal mortality multiplied by 4 compared to those of metropolitan France. But the risk of death related to pregnancy, childbirth or its consequences remains globally rare (11 deaths per 100,000 live births up to one year after birth), according to the report.

For the DREES, these disparities can be explained, in part, by “lifestyles differentiated according to social background”. Among the most modest, the diet includes fewer fruits and vegetables, with more obesityalso notes the statistical service.

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