Work undertaken by the Institute of Public Health in the context of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) has highlighted the relationship between health inequalities and poverty. Mortality and morbidity rates are closely linked with socio-economic status; a clear gradient in health has been demonstrated with those of lowest status carrying a disproportionate burden of ill health (Balanda and Wilde, 2001). 

Links between inequality and social capital have also been acknowledged with high levels of inequality appearing to reduce the quality of the social environment, which in turn is detrimental to health (Balanda and Wilde, 2004). Furthermore social networks appear to impact on the health of men and women in different ways, evidenced by the research findings that married men have higher recovery rates from myocardial infarction than unmarried men while the opposite case is true for women.