Issues related to precarious living conditions and poverty have always been a central focus of the articles in *La Santé de l'homme*. In its early issues, the journal highlighted problems such as food shortages, housing conditions, and infectious diseases affecting the poorest populations. Despite overall improvements in health, the journal subsequently highlighted the widening gaps between social groups resulting from the unequal distribution of socio-environmental determinants. Today, the debate on social inequalities in health is taking place at the international level.