With the rapid development of the social economy, health has increasingly become the focus of attention. Therefore, based on the balanced panel data of the China Household Tracking Survey (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018, the Probit model was used to investigate the impact of the income gap in rural areas on residents' health level, and the relevant influencing mechanism was discussed in this paper. Results: (1) The income gap has a significant negative effect on the health level of rural residents, and the expansion of the income gap will have a more significant impact on the health level of rural residents. (2) The income gap will restrain the health level of rural residents by affecting the family income level and mobility constraints. (3) The restraining effect of the income gap on health formation mainly affects the families of young rural residents, rural male residents, residents with no rental income, and residents with low social capital. This paper analyzes and discusses, from the perspective of income gap, the impact of the income gap on the health status of rural residents in China. Based on the above conclusions, this paper puts forward some feasible suggestions to improve the health level of rural residents.
Keywords: health level; income gap; probit model; rural residents.