title: Youth unemployment and functional somatic symptoms in adulthood: results from the Northern Swedish cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the possible long-term health consequences of youth unemployment. Research indicates that unemployment may lead to socioeconomic downward mobility and mental health problems, but we still lack knowledge of the long-term health consequences of youth unemployment. This article examines the potential long-term association between youth unemployment and functional somatic symptoms in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 'Northern Swedish cohort' was used with data from five data collections, from 1981 (age 16) until 2007 (age 42). Youth unemployment was measured as months in unemployment between age 16 and 21, and health outcome as functional somatic symptoms (an index of 10 items of self-reported symptoms). Linear regression was used to analyse the relationship between months in youth unemployment and functional somatic symptoms at age 21 and age 42, stratified for women and men and adjusted for potential confounders, such as time spent in education at age 21 and later unemployment between age 21 and 42.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Youth unemployment was significantly related to functional somatic symptoms at age 21 for men after controlling for confounders, but not for women. Among men, the association remained for functional somatic symptoms at age 42, after controlling for confounders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescence seems to be a sensitive period during which unemployment could have remaining health effects in adulthood, at least for men, though assumptions of causality are tentative and more research is needed.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden anna.brydsten@umu.se.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brydsten
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hammarström
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden 2 Department of Social Work, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mattias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strandh
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Klara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johansson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004813:Epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult