(WS) - Since the French Paradox grabbed attention in the early 1990s, countless studies have focused on better understanding the cardiovascular benefits of alcohol, particularly red wine.

But research has also regularly found links between better heart health and higher incomes. Now, a study published this month in PLOS Medicine takes a deeper look at the relationship between wine and health through a socioeconomic lens.

"Socioeconomic differences in health are a big public-health challenge," Eirik Degerud, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the study's corresponding author, told Wine Spectator via email. "In alcohol research, several previous studies have observed a paradox: Although individuals with low socioeconomic position drink less, on average, when compared to those with higher position, they tend to end up at the hospital more often for alcohol-related diseases."