London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The role of structural and social determinants in shaping the health of individuals is largely acknowledged. Good evidence suggest that this effect may be played through several pathways, including: access to health care services; health education; differential exposure to risk factors (such as smoking, heavy drinking, unhealthy diet, lack of physical activities, etc); disadvantaged early life experiences. However, all diseases are ultimately a biological phenomenon and poverty itself cannot make anyone sick: what we miss in this picture is the last step explaining how social determinants of health influence those biological processes (at genetic, physiology or immune system level) that can lead to pathological conditions. While over the past few years some exciting studies have been published in this field, the work remains sparse.

We argue that a stronger scientific investment in this area can produce substantial advances in our understanding of how health inequalities are generated and perpetrated and also have significant policy implications: once a mechanistic pathway will be demonstrated not only the case for the relevance of social determinants of health will be stronger, but also the cultural and political response to health inequalities that will follow.

Aim of the symposium
1. To illustrate examples of existing studies attempting to address the link between social determinants of health and biological markers
2. To introduce key methodological and scientific concepts in this area
3. To discuss persisting knowledge gaps and methodological challenges
4. To understand how this area can contribute to our understanding of health inequalities and how to tackle them

Agenda:
The agenda of the symposium includes four talks followed by a structured panel discussion to reflect on the main emerging messages and indicate future working directions.

Followed by a drinks reception