Having a downgraded social status could possibly be linked to damaging your immune system.
"Simply being at the bottom of the social heap directly alters the body," BBC News reports. The headline is based on a study in which researchers used female monkeys to simulate social hierarchies.
Monkeys of low social status were found to have biomarkers indicating poor immune function and possible increased vulnerability to infection.
The researchers arranged the monkeys into social groups and observed behaviours for two years to determine the social hierarchy. They then "mixed-up" the groups so that some of the monkeys were introduced into other groups as the "new girl". This effectively meant that the "newbie monkey" was stripped of all social status.
They then took blood samples to look at any effect this had on the immune system. The study found that social rankings in the monkey groups had an effect on white blood cells involved in fighting off disease. These findings suggested that the stress of a lower social ranking may increase inflammation and reduce resistance to infection and illness.
Although this study was specific to monkeys, the researchers argue that these findings are also applicable to humans. We do, after all, share much of our DNA with them.
Still, social status is a subjective concept not an objective fact. It only matters if you let it matter. As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent".
The study was carried out by researchers from a number of international institutions in the US, Canada and Kenya, including Duke University, Emory University, the Universite de Montreal, and the Institute of Primate Research in Nairobi.
It was funded by grants, including one from the Canada Research Chairs Program.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Science.
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