Brunner E
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London.
BMJ. 1997 May 17;314(7092):1472-6. doi: 10.1136/bmj.314.7092.1472.
It is well established that health depends on socioeconomic circumstances, but the biology of this relation is not well described. Psychosocial factors operating throughout the life course, beginning in early life, influence a variety of biological variables. Research with non-human primates shows the effects of dominance hierarchy on biology, and similar metabolic differentials are evident in a hierarchy of white collar civil servants. The neuroendocrine "fight or flight" response produces physiological and metabolic alterations which parallel those observed with lower socioeconomic status. The biological effects of the psychosocial environment could explain health inequalities between relatively affluent groups.
健康取决于社会经济环境，这一点已得到充分证实，但这种关系的生物学机制尚未得到充分描述。从生命早期开始贯穿整个生命历程的社会心理因素会影响多种生物学变量。对非人类灵长类动物的研究表明了等级制度对生物学的影响，类似的代谢差异在白领公务员等级体系中也很明显。神经内分泌的“战斗或逃跑”反应会产生与社会经济地位较低时所观察到的类似的生理和代谢变化。社会心理环境的生物学效应可以解释相对富裕群体之间的健康不平等现象。
