premise: The social determinants of health are factors in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These factors depend on the social distribution of resources and can affect the life expectancy and quality of life that people have. These factors refer to the social context that people live in and include characteristics such as level of education, culture, stress and socioeconomic conditions as well as many others. It can be difficult to see how some of these factors may affect somebodys health but it is likely to involve a combination of multiple factors. A number of mechanisms acting together have been described to explain why someone with a poor diet would have a lower life expectancy. One such mechanism is as follows: This individual would be more likely to be malnourished which would weaken their immune system. This would ultimately increase their likelihood of suffering from infections. Recurrent infections would place strain on the body, which could eventually result in organ failure. On average, the life expectancy in the most deprived areas can be up to 10 years lower than in the least deprived areas. Many of these health inequalities are avoidable. Understanding how these social determinants affect the health of a population will allow us to improve its care. Knowledge of how social policies impact health can better allow us to monitor changes in health care, and is allowing us to reduce the gaps between those with a more disadvantaged social background from those with a privileged background.
hypothesis: Dropping out of school can have an effect on an individuals health.