Hard times or good times? Inequalities in the health effects of economic change

Riva, Mylène; Bambra, Clare; Easton, Susan; Curtis, Sarah

doi:10.1007/s00038-010-0220-x

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…Consistent increases in male suicide rates have been noted in many other studies 24. The relationships between morbidity in mental health, health inequalities and recessions are less well understood and findings differ between studies 7 25. A recent before and after comparison of patients attending primary care services in Spain found a marked increase in the prevalence of mental health disorders following the onset of the current global recession 26.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Trends in population mental health before and after the 2008 recession: a repeat cross-sectional analysis of the 1991–2010 Health Surveys of England

2012

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ObjectiveTo assess short-term differences in population mental health before and after the 2008 recession and explore how and why these changes differ by gender, age and socio-economic position.DesignRepeat cross-sectional analysis of survey data.SettingEngland.ParticipantsRepresentative samples of the working age (25–64 years) general population participating in the Health Survey for England between 1991 and 2010 inclusive.Main outcome measuresPrevalence of poor mental health (caseness) as measured by the general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ).ResultsAge–sex standardised prevalence of GHQ caseness increased from 13.7% (95% CI 12.9% to 14.5%) in 2008 to 16.4% (95% CI 14.9% to 17.9%) in 2009 and 15.5% (95% CI 14.4% to 16.7%) in 2010. Women had a consistently greater prevalence since 1991 until the current recession. However, compared to 2008, men experienced an increase in age-adjusted caseness of 5.1% (95% CI 2.6% to 7.6%, p<0.001) in 2009 and 3% (95% CI 1.2% to 4.9%, p=0.001) in 2010, while no statistically significant changes were seen in women. Adjustment for differences in employment status and education level did not account for the observed increase in men nor did they explain the differential gender patterning. Over the last decade, socio-economic inequalities showed a tendency to increase but no clear evidence for an increase in inequalities associated with the recession was found. Similarly, no evidence was found for a differential effect between age groups.ConclusionsPopulation mental health in men has deteriorated within 2 years of the onset of the current recession. These changes, and their patterning by gender, could not be accounted for by differences in employment status. Further work is needed to monitor recessionary impacts on health inequalities in response to ongoing labour market and social policy changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Trends in population mental health before and after the 2008 recession: a repeat cross-sectional analysis of the 1991–2010 Health Surveys of England

2012

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“…This period includes three major economic crises that severely hit the South Korean economy (see online supplementary table S5): the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998; the domestic financial crisis (credit card crisis) of 2003 that created about four million delinquent credit holders and the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. Whether these economic crises have led to negative effects on health and health inequalities depends on national contexts such as social safety nets and public expenditure 48 49. In South Korea, the Gini coefficient for disposable income rose during the three economic crises, and relative poverty peaked in the late 1990s and increased steadily ever since 50.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forty years of economic growth and plummeting mortality: the mortality experience of the poorly educated in South Korea

Bahk

Lynch

Khang

2016

J Epidemiol Community Health

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“…The Great Recession also may have heterogeneous influences by age, gender, and country or region of residence (Riva et al 2011). Age-specific associations between recessions and health that have been discussed more in aggregate-level studies probably extend to the individual level as well, whether because of differential distributions of some recessionary shocks or different implications of these for health.…”

Section: What Are the Implications For Health Disparities?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Great Recession and Health

Burgard,

Ailshire,

Kalousova

2013

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Scie

103

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Two research traditions have evolved to assess links between recessions and health, with seemingly divergent findings. Aggregate-level studies generally find that mortality rates decline during recessionary periods. By contrast, individual-level studies generally find that events that frequently occur during recessions, like job loss, unemployment, and material hardship, carry negative health consequences. We comprehensively review evidence from these two bodies of research, illustrate key findings, and show how the different mechanisms can operate in parallel. We also outline some of the limitations of the extant evidence, discuss studies emerging to address these limits and directions for future research, and provide brief empirical examples to illustrate some of these limits and directions using the Health and Retirement Study and the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study. Our review emphasizes the importance of considering both the aggregate-and individual-level associations when evaluating the likely short-and longer-term consequences of the Great Recession for health and health disparities.

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Hard times or good times? Inequalities in the health effects of economic change

Cited by 21 publications

References 28 publications

Trends in population mental health before and after the 2008 recession: a repeat cross-sectional analysis of the 1991–2010 Health Surveys of England

Trends in population mental health before and after the 2008 recession: a repeat cross-sectional analysis of the 1991–2010 Health Surveys of England

Forty years of economic growth and plummeting mortality: the mortality experience of the poorly educated in South Korea

The Great Recession and Health

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