Is unemployment making you sick?

A new healthcare study conducted by Kelton Research and coordinated by TeleVox shows Americans are affected by unemployment in many ways not previously explored.

Entitled A Fragile Nation in Poor Health, it reports findings in several categories, such as age, sex and geographics.

But one of the most striking categories concerning us should be the results found involving the unemployed in America, as well as the midwest regional statistics, of which Chicago is a part.

It's pretty much a given that unemployment and the stress it generates can cause depression and illness, particularly when endured in the job market and economy we're currently experiencing. But this study revealed that 59 percent of unemployed workers say their overall personal health is lacking, as opposed to nearly 60 percent of employed individuals who are feeling good about the state of their personal health.

Bruce Zimmerman, president of TeleVox, said in an interview earlier this week that " depression wreaks havoc on mental and emotional health", as this study confirms.

Depression can also cause weight gain, and since the midwest is known as the "breadbasket" of America, we here in Chicago fill ourselves with all kinds of delicious breads and comfort foods such as casseroles, steaks, hamburgers, fried chicken, and pot roast (do not head to your kitchen for a snack at this time). We have the highest rate of obesity in the U.S., second only to the southeast region in this study.

These results are also validated by prior Harvard studies showing that the unemployed are twice as likely to report developing a new ailment like high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease over the next 1.5 years, compared to those who are continuously employed.

Basically, the unemployed are not taking care of themselves. Eighty one percent admitted they don't follow treatment plans they've been given.

For instance, they may not fill presciptions, try to skip or reduce dosages to conserve money, particularly if there's no insurance to cover these costs. You may cancel your health club membership to save money and make other decisions and rationalisations that you wouldn't normally make to reduce costs while you're in between jobs.

A physician can describe medication for depression, but if it's not taken properly, it won't help. Many antidepressants take several weeks to build up in the system to work effectively.

Skipping dosages, or stopping the medication after a few weeks because you feel better and think you don't need it, can cause serious health repercussions.

Another surprising fact brought to light, according to Scott Zimmerman, was the "size of the disconnect" between healthcare professionals' expectations of patients adhering to their care plans and the actual number who do. forty one percent of unemployed adults feel they could better follow their prescribed plans if they received encouragement from their doctors between visits.

Twenty seven percent said they would follow instructions better if they received reminders from their doctors via email, voicemail or text telling them something specific, like take a walk, take medication, etc.

So, what does all this mean? You need to make your health your #1 priority.

WN Economics.com