Socioeconomic status is a variable predictive of rates of almost every disease and ailment and the mortality and morbidity rates that can result.
Socioeconomic status is linked to health at every level of class.
Individuals who are below the poverty line are certainly at risk for lower health due to lack of and under utilization of health care due to financial constraints. However, the relation between socioeconomic status and health appears at every level of the socioeconomic status, not just around the poverty line. Thus, even those individuals just a few points above on the socioeconomic status hierarchy enjoy better health than those directly below. Those of higher class standing avoid experiencing this degree of stress due to less stressful factors in the surrounding environment and access to a larger number of social supports and resources than available to those of lower class. The lower in socioeconomic status one is the harder it might be to purchase needed, as well as desired items without overextending one's budget.