Concentration of wealth and prevalence of noncommunicable disease: a cross-national comparison in EU

Background

Income inequality has long been associated with poorer health outcomes and widening health inequities across populations. However, wealth—representing accumulated assets and long-term economic security—is increasingly recognized as a more comprehensive indicator of household economic resources. Compared to income, wealth may better capture structural advantages that shape health over the life course. Despite this, the relationship between wealth inequality and population health remains underexplored. This study examines whether concentration of wealth at the top of the distribution is associated with the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) across European countries.

Methods

We conducted a cross-national panel analysis including European Union countries from 2010 to 2019. Data on wealth concentration (top 10% and top 1% shares) were obtained from the World Inequality Database. NCD prevalence among individuals aged 30–70 years was sourced from WHO Europe. We estimated linear regression models with clustered standard errors, adjusting for national income per capita and year fixed effects.

Results

Higher wealth concentration among the top 1% was positively associated with NCD prevalence in the adult population (coefficient: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.00–0.52). No statistically significant association was observed for wealth concentration among the top 10%.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that concentration of wealth at the very top of the distribution may adversely affect population health. Policies aimed at promoting a more equitable distribution of wealth could contribute to reducing the burden of NCDs and improving health outcomes across European populations.

Key messages

• Wealth is a critical social determinant of health: higher concentration at the top is associated with worse population NCD outcomes.

• Reducing extreme wealth concentration may improve public health and lower the burden of NCDs across European populations.