Midlife 『wealth shock』 could lead to an early death, study suggests

A big financial loss may shorten your life, a new studysuggests.

Middle-aged Americans who experienced a sudden, large economicblow were more likely to die during the following years than thosewho didn』t.

The heightened danger of death after a devastating loss, whichresearchers called a 「wealth shock」, crossed socio-economic lines,affecting people no matter how much money they had to start.

The analysis of nearly 9,000 people』s experiences underscoreswell-known connections between money and well-being, with priorstudies linking lower incomes and rising income inequality withmore chronic disease and shorter life expectancy.

「This is really a story about everybody,」 said lead researcherLindsay Pool of Northwestern University』s medical school. Stress,delays in health care, substance abuse and suicides may contribute,she said.

「Policymakers should pay attention.」

Overall, wealth shock was tied with a 50 per cent greater riskof dying, although the study couldn』t prove a cause-and-effectconnection. The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of theAmerican Medical Association.

Researchers analysed two decades of data from the Health andRetirement Study, which checks in every other year with a group ofpeople in their 50s and 60s and keeps track of who dies.

About 1 in 4 people in the study had a wealth shock, whichresearchers defined as a loss of 75 per cent or more in net worthover two years. The average loss was about US$100,000.

That could include a drop in the value of investments orrealised losses like a home foreclosure. Some shocks happenedduring the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

Others happened before or after. No matter what was going on inthe greater US economy, a wealth shock still increased the chanceof dying.

Women were more likely than men to have a wealth shock. Oncethey did, their increased chance of dying was about the same as theincrease for men. Researchers adjusted for marital changes,unemployment and health status.

They still saw the connection between financial crisis anddeath.

The effect was more marked if the person lost a home as part ofthe wealth shock, and it was more pronounced for people with fewerassets.

The findings suggest a wealth shock is as dangerous as a newdiagnosis of heart disease, wrote Dr Alan Garber of HarvardUniversity in an accompanying editorial, noting that doctors needto recognise how money hardships may affect their patients.

The findings come at a time when US life expectancy has droppedfor two straight years.

「We should be doing everything we can to prevent people fromexperiencing wealth shocks,」 said Dr Steven Woolf, director of theVirginia Commonwealth University Centre on Society and Health, whowas not involved in the study.

What exactly to do, however, may take more research, saidKatherine Baicker, dean of the Harris School of Public Policy atUniversity of Chicago, who also was not involved in the study.

「We don』t yet know whether policies that aim to protect people』ssavings will have a direct effect on mortality or not,」 Baickersaid.

「But that』s not the only reason to try to protect people』ssavings.」