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Men who lose their jobs at greater risk of
dying prematurely
April
12, 2011--McGill sociologist finds strong
correlation between unemployment and
mortality with most significant effects felt
by men who become unemployed in their early
or mid-careers
Newswise — Research by McGill Sociology
Professor Eran Shor, working in
collaboration with researchers from Stony
Brook University, has revealed that
unemployment increases the risk of premature
mortality by 63 per cent. Shor reached these
conclusions by surveying existing research
covering 20 million people in 15 (mainly
western) countries, over the last 40 years.
One surprising finding was that, in spite of
expectations that a better health-care
system might contribute to lower mortality
rates, the correlation between unemployment
and a higher risk of death was the same in
all the countries covered by the study.
The truly groundbreaking aspect of the
research is that it suggests that there is a
causal relationship between unemployment and
a higher risk of death.
“Until now, one of the big questions in the
literature has been about whether
pre-existing health conditions, such as
diabetes or heart problems, or behaviours
such as smoking, drinking or drug use, lead
to both unemployment and a greater risk of
death,” Shor said.
”What’s interesting about
our work is that we found that preexisting
health conditions had no effect, suggesting
that the unemployment-mortality relationship
is quite likely a causal one. /b>
"This probably
has to do with unemployment causing stress
and negatively affecting one’s socioeconomic
status, which in turn leads to poorer health
and higher mortality rates.”
The research also showed that unemployment
increases men’s mortality risk more than it
does women’s mortality risk (78 per cent vs.
37 per cent respectively).The research also
showed that there is a much higher
correlation between unemployment and
mortality for men than for women (78 per
cent vs. 37 per cent). The risk of death is
particularly high for those who are under
the age of 50.
“We suspect that even today, not having a
job is more stressful for men than for
women.” Shor said.
“When a man loses his
job, it still often means that the family
will become poorer and suffer in various
ways, which in turn can have a huge impact
on a man’s health by leading to both
increased smoking, drinking or eating and by
reducing the availability of healthy
nutrition and health care services.”
The research suggests that public-health
initiatives could target unemployed people
for more aggressive cardiovascular screening
and interventions aimed at reducing
risk-taking behaviours.
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