Who suffers during recessions? Economic downturns, job loss, and cardiovascular disease in older Americans

Noelke, Clemens and Avendano, Mauricio (2015) Who suffers during recessions? Economic downturns, job loss, and cardiovascular disease in older Americans. American Journal of Epidemiology, 182 (10). pp. 873-882. ISSN 0002-9262

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Abstract

Job loss in the years before retirement has been found to increase risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but some studies suggest that CVD mortality among older workers declines during recessions. We hypothesized that recessionary labor market conditions were associated with reduced CVD risk among persons who did not experience job loss and increased CVD risk among persons who lost their jobs. In our analyses, we used longitudinal, nationally representative data from Americans 50 years of age or older who were enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study and surveyed every 2 years from 1992 to 2010 about their employment status and whether they had experienced a stroke or myocardial infarction. To measure local labor market conditions, Health and Retirement Study data were linked to county unemployment rates. Among workers who experienced job loss, recessionary labor market conditions at the time of job loss were associated with a significantly higher CVD risk (hazard ratio = 2.54, 95% confidence interval: 1.39, 4.65). In contrast, among workers who did not experience job loss, recessionary labor market conditions were associated with a lower CVD risk (hazard ratio = 0.50, 95% confidence interval: 0.31, 0.78). These results suggest that recessions might be protective in the absence of job loss but hazardous in the presence of job loss.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/
Additional Information:	© 2015 The Authors
Divisions:	LSE Health
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2015 15:27
Last Modified:	14 Nov 2024 08:36
Projects:	R01AG040248M, 1 P30 AG024409-09, 1 P30 AG024409-09, R01AG037398
Funders:	National Institute on Aging, European Research Council, McArthur Foundation Research Network on Ageing
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/64691

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