Researchers at the University of Michigan and University College London found that middle-aged adults in the US reported higher rates of high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, and mental health conditions compared to their peers in the same age bracket in UK.
And though money is generally associated with better health in the US, high earnings didn't close the gap.
Even Americans in the top 10% of income (making upwards of $144,000 per year) had worse health outcomes compared to the highest 10% of income earners in the UK (who only made upwards of $71,000 a year).
To conduct the new study, published today in JAMA, the researchers compared the health of about 13,000 adults in the US and 5,700 adults in the UK between the ages of 55 to 64 using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) from 2008-2016.
The study found that when people in the same income bracket in the US and UK were compared, across the board those in the UK had better health. The disparities in health were notably more severe between the lowest 20% of earners in both countries.
Americans with lower incomes reported higher rates of pre-existing conditions that could lead to more severe COVID-19 symptoms
While middle-aged Brits across the board had better health than Americans, the difference was especially stark when comparing those with low income.
Middle-aged Americans in the lower 20% reported higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic lung disease — all pre-existing conditions that are known to make symptoms COVID-19 more deadly.
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Because of the lack of access to healthy foods in low-income areas, lack of access to affordable healthcare, and access to green spaces — particularly in low-income communities of color — these pre-existing conditions are exacerbated.
"The shocking difference between rich and poor in both countries is something to be addressed," Dr. Kenneth Langa,a professor of internal medicine, gerontology and health management and policy at the University of Michigan Medical School, told CNN."It's especially magnified in the United States, this rich-poor difference is even more of a public health emergency."
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