title: Job loss, wealth and depression during the Great Recession in the USA and Europe.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether late-career job loss increased depression among older workers approaching retirement in the USA and Europe.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal data came from the Health and Retirement Survey and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. Workers aged 50 to 64 years in 13 European countries and the USA were assessed biennially from 2006 to 2010. Individual fixed effects models were used to test the effect of job loss on depressive symptoms, controlling for age, sex, physical health, initial wealth and socio-demographic factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Job loss was associated with a 4.78% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.823% to 8.74%] increase in depressive symptoms in the USA compared with a 3.35% (95% CI: 0.486% to 6.22%) increase in Europe. Job loss due to a worker's unexpected firm closure increased depression scores in both the USA (beta=28.2%, 95% CI: 8.55% to 47.8%) and Europe (beta=7.50%, 95% CI: 1.25% to 13.70%), but pooled models suggested significantly stronger effects for US workers (P<0.001). American workers who were poorer before the recession experienced significantly larger increases in depressive symptoms compared with wealthier US workers (beta for interaction=-0.054, 95% CI: -0.082 to -0.025), whereas pre-existing wealth did not moderate the impact of job loss among European workers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Job loss is associated with increased depressive symptoms in the USA and Europe, but effects of job loss due to plant closure are stronger for American workers. Wealth mitigates the impact of job loss on depression in the USA more than in Europe.
authors.affiliation: LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA c.j.riumallo-herl@lse.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riumallo-Herl
authors.affiliation: LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.affiliation: LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stuckler
authors.affiliation: LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Courtin
authors.affiliation: LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, Department of Medicine, Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Faculty of Social Sciences, Oxford University, Oxford, UK, and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Avendano
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D057172:Economic Recession; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012179:Retirement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States
keywords: Economic recession; ageing; depression; mental health; unemployment