FINANCIAL PROBLEMS CAN EFFECT LIFE AND HEALTH
AUBURN, AUG. 20---Americans are facing the fact that increasing income instability is the price they have to pay for a dynamic, expanding economy. Most people know folks who lost jobs because of downsizing over the past decade and suffered a sharp (if only temporary) income decline.
A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health focuses on an aspect of income instability that has received little attention -- its negative impact on individuals' health. The results suggest that sharp income drops, even when temporary, can result in higher mortality risks.
In one study, a team led by Peggy McDonough of Ontario's York University, used U.S. survey data from 1972 through1989 to compare death rates of people 45 and older with their income levels. As in earlier studies, researchers found the lower the income, the higher the death risk.
Other things being equal, people whose household incomes averaged less than $20,000 (1993 dollars) over a five-year period were two to three times more likely to die in the next five years than those with incomes over $70,000. People with family incomes in a middle range ($20,000 to $70,000 ) had a 50 percent higher chance of dying than people in the high-income group.
The most provocative findings, however, related to income stability. Researchers reported that sharp income drops -- 50 percent or more in a five-year period -- had little effect on the already high mortality rates of low-income people. And temporary drops of this size had little effect on the low death rates of high-income (over $70,000) individuals.
It was the health of people in the middle-income group that suffered the most if they had experienced a sharp income decline in the prior five years. Such occurrences doubled their risk of death, raising it to the levels found among those in the lowest-income group.
These results are troubling, says Dr. Fred Waddell, an Extension family resource management specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. They confirm that persistent poverty or near-poverty income levels are seriously detrimental to individuals' health. Another finding was that low-income people experienced even higher mortality if their low income persisted for four of the prior five years. Findings also imply that income instability, even a temporary sharp drop in income, may increase health risks for the middle class.
Authors of the study concluded that America's rising income inequality and instability will increase the number of vulnerable individuals in low- and middle-income groups and worsen the nation's health.
Physical Impact of Financial Problems
People with financial problems frequently reveal certain physical maladies. For example, financial worries often result in stress-related disorders such as insomnia, irritability, substance abuse, colds and other immune-deficiency related illnesses.
Experienced financial counselors report that clients stressed by financial problems may become accident-prone. They have car accidents or accidents at home or work even though they had no prior record of accidents.
It's not surprising that people worried about or preoccupied with financial problems may have health or physical problems or injuries, says Waddell. They sometimes neglect their health, are easily distracted and don't pay attention to what they are doing.
Money Stress Can Bite You In The Mouth
According to a study released in July, people who don't handle a financial crisis well, also double their risk of developing gum disease. At least 30 million people in America suffer from gum disease, a bacterial infection of the gums.
Gum disease is a major cause of tooth loss in adults, says researcher Robert Genco of the State University of New York at Buffalo. Gum disease also puts people at risk for heart attack and stroke.
Small studies had linked stress and gum disease, but Genco and his colleagues did a larger, more definitive study. The team gave 1,400 people ages 25 to 74 a dental exam, looking for signs of gum disease such as bleeding or swollen gums. Researchers
also asked about financial health. Recruits were asked whether they had trouble paying the mortgage each month and how they handled financial problems.
An analysis showed people with poor coping skills and high levels of financial stress faced a higher than average risk of gum disease. Such people might routinely miss mortgage payments but don't take any action to work through the crisis.
People who were in similar financial straits but who were actively reducing their debt, showed no greater risk of gum disease. In the July issue of the Journal of Periodontology, Genco and his associates reported that financial stress can lead to gum disease in several ways:
Internationally acclaimed medical intuitive Caroline Myss, in a best-selling book on health and healing, Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing, states:
"Of course, making lots of money doesn't guarantee health, but poverty, powerlessness and illness are undeniably linked. When you have trouble making money or you suddenly lose money, your biological system may weaken...."
Louise Hay, in Heal Your Body, identifies similar physical maladies that accompany money problems. These include:
Louise Hay, Heal Your Body, (1988), Hay House Inc., Carlsbad, CA. pp.10-80.
Caroline Myss, Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing (1996), Crown Publishers Inc. New York, pp.45-46, 152.
SOURCE: Fred Waddell, Ph.D. Extension family resource management
specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System (334) 844-3244.