Keeping track of the news recently is enough to make anyone feel sick to their stomach. Watching the roller-coaster stock market is enough to give you a headache. And for people who are watching their investments dry up and blow away, it can be downright depressing.
Literally.
As the United States’ and the global markets continue their freefall, it has led some people to speculate on the effect it has on people’s overall health.
The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that the financial crisis could lead people with mental health issues to have an even more difficult time coping with them. The WHO suggests that people who suffer from depression or bi-polar disorder could be vulnerable to the gloomy news coming from the financial markets, increasing anxiety over whether they will have a job or resources.
In her New York Times health column, Well, reporter Tara Parker-Pope writes that the evidence is somewhat mixed on how economic downturns affect people’s health. In fact, there can actually be benefits to difficult financial times – for instance, people tend to spend more time with their families, which can potentially enhance their children’s health. And more people are cooking from scratch rather than eating prepared foods because of the latter’s higher costs, which can have a positive impact on their health.
One of the biggest issues, Parker-Pope writes, is the effect a financial downturn has on access to health care. People losing jobs also means people losing health care benefits. That can affect preventative care as well as treatment for illnesses. With nearly 50 million Americans already uninsured, those are the kind of numbers that can make you sick.
--Scott Samples
Public Information Officer
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