SALT LAKE CITY — Depression and health problems are more likely to plague those in poverty, according to the results of a new poll.

Gallup released a poll Tuesday saying that Americans in poverty are 15.1 percent more likely than those not impoverished to be clinically diagnosed with depression. Additionally, they are more likely to be obese, and reported weight-related asthma, high blood pressure and heart attacks.

The reason for their ill health? Gallup says that it may be a result of the lack of accessible health care for impoverished people, who receive fewer screenings and preventative treatments than their wealthy counterparts. Four of 10 Americans in poverty are without health insurance, while 14.3 percent of Americans who are not in poverty are uninsured.

Further, those in poverty are twice as likely to say they can’t afford to pay for necessary health care or medicine for themselves or their families. Many do not have personal doctors, either.

In Utah, the case is the same. Jennifer Hyvonen, External Affairs Director of the Fourth Street Clinic, works with homeless Utahns to get health care and support services.

“There are a lot of health care services being provided to the homeless population, but it’s not necessarily contributing to better health,” Hyvonen said.

She notes that the health care those in poverty are receiving comes from emergency services, which only stabilize the patient before referring them to a primary care physician. Those physicians and preventative care, however, are where the disconnect happens for those in poverty, she said.

“These (chronic diseases) can be treated and managed in a primary care setting, which is what poor Utahns have trouble accessing,” Hyvonen said.

Their chronic illnesses could also be a result of the mere fact that they are in poverty, Gallup said.

“Depression could lead to poverty in some circumstances, poverty could lead to depression in others, or some third factor could be causing both,” Gallup wrote. “Regardless, it is clear that those in poverty are twice as likely as those who aren't to have ever been diagnosed with a potentially debilitating illness and one that could be impeding them from getting out of poverty.”

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Hyvonen said she sees the same at the clinic.

“Once you’re homeless, and in poverty, and you’re sick, you really need to get those health conditions treated to move out of poverty and homelessness,” she said.

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Poor health habits contributed to their depression and physical health ailments as well.

Impoverished Americans are more likely to smoke and less likely to exercise and eat produce regularly — though they’re just as likely to say they ate healthy “yesterday” as their counterparts. They also reported it was more difficult to find a safe place to exercise or an affordable place to buy produce and medicine where they live.

Part of the Fourth Street Clinic’s goal is to educate the homeless about keeping well and treating their health conditions. The clinic brings family practitioners and nurse practitioners, nutritionists and counselors to advise people on treating their chronic illnesses and how to keep themselves healthy.

“When we think of medical treatments, we think of these technical treatments,” Hyvonen said. “But really, the low-level checkups and care prevents the need for a lot of those other things. ... It’s not advanced medicine, it’s talking to patients and teaching them what they need to do to keep themselves healthy.”

Everyone, she said, should receive an education about their physical and mental health. She notes that many people were sound financially before medical conditions.

“Your health determines everything about your quality of life, whether you can work and take care of your family, and it is so important to make that primary care available to people who don’t have a lot of resources,” Hyvoven said. “Primary care is what is going to keep people working and living. We’ve got to provide people resources. ... It’s something we’re all at risk for.”

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