Being Downsized May Increase Stroke Risk
[16 June 2004 - Reuters Health] Losing a job is always tough, but for people nearing retirement age, it may also be harmful to their health, results of a new study suggest. People who lost a job close to retirement age were more than twice as likely to have a stroke as people of the same age who had not lost a job, researchers report. "Our study has established that, for workers nearing retirement, the loss of a job is a salient experience associated with negative effects on health, including increased risk of stroke," Dr. William T. Gallo at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, told Reuters Health. "The public, in particular older workers, physicians and occupational health care providers should be aware that involuntary unemployment in the years leading up to retirement may be a credible risk factor for adverse health events," Gallo said. This is not the first time that Gallo and his colleagues have found that job loss can have a negative impact on health. ...