Are you afraid to lose your job? Then you may be at risk of asthma.
A new study suggests that job insecurity or fear of losing one's job may increase the risk of developing asthma to as high as 60%.
In 2009, a team of researchers from Germany's University of Düsseldorf along with other members from New Zealand and Netherlands schools surveyed 7,000 adults in the workforce. The chosen period was critical since this was during the Great Recession where thousands of Europeans lost their jobs.
The researchers asked the participants of their employment outlook within the next 2 years, as well as their medical history or problems, including asthma risks and attacks.
Later, they conducted a follow-up wherein they discovered each time the job security increased to 25%, the chances of getting asthma were about 24%. However, for those who expressed a bleaker employment forecast, the asthma risks went up to 60%. By the time they were done with their follow-up, the team reported over 100 new asthma cases.
The study, which can now be read in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, is the first one to correlate asthma risks and job security.
The likelihood of asthma may be caused by an increased level of work-related stress as an employee contemplates about his chances of keeping his employment. Stress itself may cause a person to smoke more to relax himself.
Nevertheless, the researchers and other experts agree that more studies have to be conducted in order to establish the real relationship between asthma and job loss.
On the other hand, Germany has been seriously looking into work-related stress and its economic impact. Andrea Nahles, the country's labor minister had recently commissioned a comprehensive study that aims to define what work stress is and how much it costs for a business and Germany's economy. Based on the results of the study, they may create a law to reduce stress in the workplace.
