LONDON - Losing your job late in your career doubles your chances of a heart attack or stroke, suggests research published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine noted by Newswise.

Researchers base findings on participants in a U.S. health and retirement survey which had more than 12,500 people from almost 8,000 households.  Baseline surveys occurred in 1992 with 4,301 people ages 51 to 61, all working at the time.  Ten years later, more than 1,200 people had retired and nearly 600 had died.  Another 450 had stopped work temporarily; 960 had left full-time work for other reasons.  Of the rest, 582 people had lost their jobs and 3,719 were still working.

Over the 10 years, 202 people had had a heart attack, of which 23 occurred in those who were jobless, and after they had been made redundant.  Similarly, 140 people had a stroke, of which 33 occurred in the jobless group, with 13 occurring after the job loss.

Analysis showed those who had been made redundant over age 50 were more then twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke versus those who were still working.  The figures held true after accounting for other factors, such as diabetes, smoking, obesity, and high blood pressure.

“For many individuals, late career job loss is an exceptionally stressful experience with the potential for provoking numerous undesirable outcomes, including [heart attacks and stroke],” the authors said.  “Based on our results, the true costs of unemployment exceed the obvious economic costs and include substantial health consequences as well.”

The complete paper is at press.psprings.co.uk/oem/june/om26823.pdf.