A new study has found that some of the difference in heart disease rates between deprived and wealthy people is down to IQ.
Scientists have long known that health-related behaviours such as smoking and poor diet are partly to blame for the fact that people of low socioeconomic status tend to have a greater risk of premature death.
Now, scientists from the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust have discovered that more than 20 per cent of the difference in mortality between people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those from wealthier families can be attributed to IQ.
Commenting on the findings, which are published in the European Heart Journal, lead researcher Dr David Batty said: 'IQ wasn't a magic bullet in this study, but this psychological variable had additional explanatory power on top of the classic variables such as smoking, high blood pressure, high blood glucose and obesity.
'It has partially explained the differences in death from heart disease.'
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, described the study as 'interesting'.
'If we are to make real progress on tackling health inequalities we need health campaigns designed to reach everyone in the community and an environment that makes healthy choices easy choices for the whole population,' he observed.