Debt stress triggers health worries in US
June 11, 2008
By Jeannine Aversa
Washington - The stress from deepening debt is becoming a major pain in the neck - and the back and the head and the stomach - for millions of Americans.
When people are dealing with mountains of debt, they are more likely to report health problems, according to a health poll conducted by Associated Press (AP) and AOL.
Most people appear to be managing their finances but about 10 million to 16 million were "suffering terribly due to their debts and their health is likely to be negatively impacted," said Paul Lavrakas, a research psychologist and AP consultant who analysed the results of the survey. Those were people who reported high levels of debt stress and suffered from at least three stress- related illnesses, he said.
The current tough economic times and rising costs of living seem to be leading to increasing debt stress, 14 percent higher this year than in 2004, according to an index tied to the AP-AOL survey.
Among those reporting high debt stress in the new poll:
27 percent had ulcers, compared to 8 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.
44 percent had migraines, compared to 15 percent.
29 percent suffered severe anxiety, compared to 4 percent.
23 percent had severe depression, compared to 4 percent.
6 percent reported heart attacks, double the rate for those with low debt stress.
51 percent had muscle tension, compared to 31 percent of those with low debt stress.
People reporting high stress were likely to have trouble concentrating and sleeping.
When their construction business went under four years ago, Pamela Crouch and her husband, who had retired from General Motors, found themselves struggling under debt of $30 000 (R236 700 at the current exchange rate).
"We just really didn't have enough to live on to pay what we had to pay," said Crouch. She remembers having trouble sleeping and concentrating.
It was not known for certain whether stress was causing health issues, said Lavrakas, who while at Ohio State University in the 1990s helped to develop an index to measure the extent to which people are stressed from financial debt.
But medical research suggests that most of the symptoms reported in this poll are typical of chronic stress.
Regardless of the health implications, Americans are taking on more debt as tough economic times strain people's budgets. A major health problem or the loss of a job could also drive people into debt.
Others built up bills "trying to keep up with the Joneses", said Patricia Drentea, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Alabama.
Revolving consumer debt, mostly from credit cards, totals $957 billion compared with $800 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. Average car loans are up to $27 397 from $24 888 four years ago. Home loans total $10.5 trillion from $7.8 trillion in 2004.
The share of households' after-tax income that was used to service financial obligations was nearly 20 percent last year from 18.5 percent in 2004, said Scott Hoyt, a senior director of consumer economics at Moody's Economy.com.
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