Socioeconomic status affects the health of pets

The relations between socioeconomic status and health in humans has been studied extensively, but the effect on pets has not previously been considered. On p 1686 Moloo et al present data taken from a cross-sectional survey of students in the United States. After controlling for race, they found a significant association between lower socioeconomic status and reported death of a pet. Factors which affect human health, such as access to services and nutrition, might affect the health of pets, but the authors propose that pets’ health related behaviours may also be influenced by the social status of their owners.