Unemployment and its Heart-Breaking Consequence

Rebecca Lewis November 22, 2012

Being jobless can make you sick – literally. In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers found a significant link between unemployment and the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) in people ages 50 to 71 years of age.

The study, which spanned for 20 years, involved more than 13,000 people in the US. As expected, they found that those who smoked did little or no exercise, had diabetes and high blood pressure, and individuals who were overweight were more likely to suffer from heart attack. Surprisingly, they found another factor that is independently linked to heart attack: unemployment.

Their findings revealed that the rate of myocardial infarction was 27% higher among men and women who were jobless, regardless of the nature of their occupation. The effect was cumulative, the researchers note. They noticed that the rate was far higher in those who have lost four or more jobs. Even those who have been redundant for just a short period also demonstrated an increase in their risk of heart disease.

According to Dr Linda George, professor of medical sociology at the Duke University in North Carolina, unemployment poses similar and sizeable effects to other well-known, most common risk factors of heart attack, such as smoking.

Who’s to blame?

Being out of work can be very stressful, said Dr Donna Arnett, professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and president of the American Heart Association. Being jobless could mean losing lots money and having to spend savings at the wrong time. The researchers believe that the stress which comes along with losing a job is to blame for its ill-effects. Dr Arnett said it is still unknown how stress raises the risk of cardiovascular problems but there are plenty of ways to minimise stress, such as exercising, she added.

Ann McCracken, Director of AMC and Chair of the International Stress Management Association said people cannot change the fact that they are unemployed but they can change how they think about it and how stress can affect their health. She recommends staying physically active and mentally engaged instead of feeling depressed about it.

Dear Readers,

What other ways can you think of that may help people beat stress that comes along with being jobless?

Share your comments below!

Source of this article:

Jobless ’face increased heart attack risk’

The Cumulative Effect of Unemployment on Risks for Acute Myocardial Infarction