What is the lag time between income inequality and health status?

Income inequality has been associated with poorer self rated health in the United States. Possible mechanisms linking income distribution to health include: variations in a person’s access to life opportunities and material resources (for example, health care, education); social cohesion, whereby mutual support and cooperation secure better health outcomes; and possible direct psychosocial processes related to relative perceptions of position on the socioeconomic hierarchy. It seems implausible that these mechanisms of action are instantaneous—there should be a lag time during which income inequality aVects these intermediary factors, which in turn aVect health. In this study, we provide a test of the potential time lags between income inequality and self rated health.