Having a buttload of student debt as you enter the job world is not only bad for your pocketbook, making you feel like you're running on a financial hamster wheel, but it might also be bad for your health.
A new Northwestern University study headed for publication in the August issue of Social Science and Medicine found that higher debt in young adults was associated with higher blood pressure and ...
... poorer general health and mental health.
The study looked at the psychology and health of 8,400 people aged 24 to 32 via data gathered from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
One out of 5 subjects said if they sold everything they had they'd still be in debt, according to a summary of the research.
And researchers found that the higher the debt of the subject, the more likely they were to report stress, bad health and high blood pressure (a 1.3 percent increase), the academics say.
Such an increase in high blood pressure correlates to greater risk of stroke and hypertension, the researchers noted.
Lead author Elizabeth Sweet:
You wouldn't necessarily expect to see associations between debt and physical health in people who are so young. We need to be aware of this association and understand it better. Our study is just a first peek at how debt may impact physical health.
Of course, there are politicians who believe that investing in education is a waste of money and that y'all can "bootstrap" yourselves to success.
There are politicians who believe in protecting the interests of big banks while betraying the rest of us. We hope for your health's sake that you are not voting for these people.
2009: Female Homeowners Sadder, Fatter Than Renters
Female Homeowners Sadder, Fatter Than Renters
Female homeowners were also carrying around more aggravation, making less time for leisure, and were less likely to spend time with friends.
"Home ownership can be a much more complex idea than just a straightforward expression of what we call the American dream," says Grace Wong Bucchianeri, an assistant professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The story was reported on Canada.com
But what about all the good stuff that comes with owning a home? Aren't homeowners benefiting from the security and independence of owning. Not really. The research shows that when you control for things like childbirth and income, the difference in contentment vanishes.
"I don't see any strong evidence that homeowners are any happier than renters," says Bucchianeri, whose 600-woman study is under review for publication in the Journal of Urban Economics. "On the other hand, they consistently report a higher level of pain — or what you might call negative feelings — connected to their home, and that's after controlling for all kinds of demographic characteristics, their financial situation, how many children they have and so on."
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