title: The high price of debt: household financial debt and its impact on mental and physical health.
abstract: Household financial debt in America has risen dramatically in recent years. While there is evidence that debt is associated with adverse psychological health, its relationship with other health outcomes is relatively unknown. We investigate the associations of multiple indices of financial debt with psychological and general health outcomes among 8400 young adult respondents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Our findings show that reporting high financial debt relative to available assets is associated with higher perceived stress and depression, worse self-reported general health, and higher diastolic blood pressure. These associations remain significant when controlling for prior socioeconomic status, psychological and physical health, and other demographic factors. The results suggest that debt is an important socioeconomic determinant of health that should be explored further in social epidemiology research.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Abbott Hall, 710 N. Lake Shore Drive, Suite 729, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. e-sweet@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sweet
authors.forename: Arijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nandi
authors.forename: Emma K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: McDade
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005376:Financial Management; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Financial debt; Social determinants of health; Socioeconomic status