The chemical make-up of your body could indicate how wealthy you are: Rich and poor people's bodies 'contain different toxins'

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You can tell how wealthy a person is based on the chemical build-up in their body, new research suggests.
Scientists at the University of Exeter discovered that harmful chemicals build up in the bodies of people of all social standings, but that the type of toxicants depends on the person’s wealth.
For example, wealthier people tend to have more of the chemicals associated with eating fish and using sunscreen in their bodies.

Harmful chemicals build up in the bodies of people of all social standings, but the type of chemicals depends on the person's wealth and social status

By contrast, less affluent people are more likely to have a build-up of the chemicals associated with smoking.
Using data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Dr Jessica Tyrrell and her team analysed possible links between a person’s socioeconomic status and the prevalence of chemicals in their body.
They expected to find that people of lower socioeconomic status would have more toxins in their bodies.
However, this was not the case.
Dr Tyrrell said: ‘We’ve found that as people become better off, changes in their lifestyle alter the types of chemicals in their bodies, rather than reducing the overall amount.
‘This realisation has a profound impact on the way we treat chemical build-ups, suggesting we should move to dealing with groups based on lifestyle, rather than earnings.’

Wealthier people tend to have more of the chemicals associated with eating fish and using sunscreen in their bodies. These include urinary mercury, arsenic, caesium and thallium

By comparing the results from six separate populations, the researchers have been able to show strong associations between 18 different chemicals and poverty ratings.
Individuals with higher incomes had larger amounts of several toxicants, including urinary mercury, arsenic, caesium and thallium, with diet likely to play a key role in their accumulation.
‘The age old adage of “you are what you eat” seems to be true when explaining some of the trends we’re seeing in the data. It’s certainly very likely that fish and shellfish consumption is partially responsible for build-ups in mercury, arsenic and thallium’, said Dr Tyrrell.
The use of sunscreen was also found to be an important factor in the accumulation of benzophenone-3, with people from higher socioeconomic groups more likely to use products containing the chemical.

Less affluent people's bodies are more likely to have a build-up of the chemicals associated with smoking

Those with lower incomes were more likely to have build-ups of urinary lead, cadmium, antimony and bisphenol A.
Cigarette smoking and a poor diet were among the factors likely to lead to the build-up of both lead and cadmium in these groups.
‘Long term exposure to chemicals, even in very small quantities, can lead to a number of adverse health effects such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
‘This study has produced a robust analysis of how the accumulation of these chemicals relates to socioeconomic status, giving us an important understanding that will help to inform strategies aimed at improving health,’ Dr Tyrrell said.

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