Debt Can Have Detrimental Effects on Health

Carrying around a lot of debt has an adverse impact not just on your credit score, but also your health. According to the renewed research, people who have a lot of debt may suffer from severe adverse effects on their physical and mental health.

The study was conducted by researchers at Northwestern University, and found that young adults, who carry a lot of debt, have a high incidence of high blood pressure and overall reports of poor physical and mental health in young adults.

The data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Dollars and Health, and specifically focused on the association between debt and psychological as well as overall general health. A total of 8,400 young adults between the age of 24 and 32 were considered as part of the study.

This is not exactly the first time the studies have found a strong association between debt and poor psychological health. However, this is believed to be one of the first times that research has focused on individual’s physical health and the impact on this health from severe debt.

The researchers found that a higher debt-to-asset ratio was linked with higher rates of depression, high rates of perceived stress, poor overall general perception of health and higher diastolic blood pressure. Persons with a lot of debt were found to have a 1.3% increase in diastolic blood pressure, which is a significant reading. They also reported an 11.7% increase in the amount of levels of perceived stress and also a 13.2% increase in depressive symptoms.

The findings of the study are especially interesting, because such levels of impact from a potential bankruptcy on physical health has typically not been seen in the case of young adults.