Unemployment Linked To Poor Mid-Life Health? New Study Shows Long-Term Implications Of Job Loss

Most of us would have faced unemployment at some point in our lives. The duration may have varied from a few months to a few years. A new study set out to find if there was any correlation between the duration of unemployment and a person's health. The results were intriguing.

The study, published in the Journal of Aging and Health, found that there were indeed patterns to suggest that unemployment in our 20s, 30s and 40s can lead to mid-life health deterioration.

Researchers analyzed 6,434 participants based on data taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The participants, between the ages of 27 and 49, were asked about the number of weeks they remained employed, unemployed or out of work the previous year. They were then made to answer questionnaires about their physical and mental health in their 40s and 50s.

The data showed three major categories – "consistently low," "decreasing mid-career" and "persistently high."

The "consistently low" group included those who experienced the least unemployment at every age and were the ones least affected. The "decreasing mid-career" group experienced most of their unemployment before the age of 35 and was more affected than the previous group. While the "persistently high" group comprised those who were the most likely to be unemployed across all ages and were the ones with the worst physical and mental health.

Lack of access to healthcare during the unemployment period is believed to be one of the major contributors to health complications later in life.

"Almost 75 percent of workers in the U.S. receive health insurance through their employers, possibly making the lasting effects of unemployment larger here than in other countries," said co-author Sarah Damaske, an associate professor at Penn State University, Pennsylvania. "Policies aimed at improving access to full-time work and health insurance, as well as efforts to promote healthy behaviors, may be able to counter the negative effects of unemployment."

Scientists, however, added that other variables could also have interfered with a person's health in later stages of life.

"Some of the 'scarring' effects of unemployment may operate through employment-based resources and health behavior characteristics," Damaske noted. "For example, lacking health insurance, smoking and a lack of physical activity were all associated with poorer physical and mental health at age 50. Interventions could aim to reduce these problems and hopefully result in better health, regardless of employment status."