Background
Employment status is an important determinant of health inequalities. The aim of this article is to analyze the association between duration of unemployment and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors, self-perception of health and presence of depression and anxiety, assessing differences in the effects of unemployment by sex and age.
Methods
The sample was composed of 12 123 people (52.4% men), 18 to 74 years old (mean age= 43.5 years, SD = 10.4). Logistic regression analyses were used to study the influence of duration of unemployment on health (‘0 days’, ‘≤11 months’ and ‘≥12 months’). Sex, age, level of education, employment status and time spent unemployed, as well as tobacco and alcohol use and physical activity, were considered. Morbidity variables were hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity, depression and anxiety, and a subjective health assessment.
Results
The results showed both unemployed men and women had worse outcome in health compared with their active counterparts. The risk of hypertension was presented in long-term unemployed men, which had 1.3 times more likely to suffer from hypertension. The risk of obesity was presented only in unemployed women, which had 1.5 times more risk of obesity, doubling the risk (OR= 2.2) among women under age 40. The unemployment had a protective effect against anxiety among younger women (OR = 0.53)
Conclusion
It has been observed a different influence of unemployment time on men and women’s health. The employment status should be considered in public health policy agendas with the purpose of reducing inequalities in health.
Restricted growth in utero and accelerated postnatal growth (APG) in the postnatal period have been associated with the development of overweight, obesity and an increased cardiovascular risk in childhood. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of prenatal and perinatal conditions on APG and to evaluate the influence of this APG on different cardiovascular risk factors such as body mass index (BMI), body fat mass index (FMI), blood pressure (BP) and arterial wall stiffness [carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV)]. All measurements were performed in 355 children (185 boys and 170 girls; 8–11 years). Data on mother weight before and during pregnancy, gestational age (weeks), birth weight (g) and breastfeeding of children were obtained through interviews with families. Children who presented APG were born of mothers with lower BMIs before pregnancy and who gained less weight during the second trimester of pregnancy. They also have a lower gestational age and birth weight, a shorter duration of breastfeeding and a longer duration of artificial feeding (AF). Later in childhood, they had higher values of cf-PWV, BMI, FMI and higher prevalence of hypertension. Low maternal gestational weight gain, inadequate fetal development (low birth weight, shorter gestational age) and reduced breastfeeding duration favor APG. Infants with such APG had higher values of cf-PWV, BP, BMI and FMI later in childhood, along with a higher risk of hypertension and obesity. The interaction between APG and a longer duration of AF had a negative effect on cf-PWV (arterial stiffness) and FMI.
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