Being unemployed leads to a 50% higher risk of death in patients suffering from heart failure, said new research from the European Society of Cardiology. It's more dangerous than having a history of diabetes or stroke because of the toll it takes on a person's overall wellbeing.
"Workforce exclusion has been associated with increased risk of
depression, mental health problems and even suicide," said Dr. Rasmus
Roerth, the study's lead author.
The study compared the risks of death in heart failure patients ranging
in age from 18 to 60 years old, who were both employed and unemployed
and suffered a heart-related incident over 15 years. They saw that 31%
of unemployed patients died within 1,000 days after their incident,
compared to 16% of employed people.
The researchers adjusted their findings to account for age, sex,
education level and comorbidities (other chronic diseases), and found
that heart failure patients who were unemployed had a 50% increased risk
of death and a 12% higher risk of rehospitalization compared to their
employed peers.
"Employment status is more than just a physical measurement as it also
has an influence on quality of life, and has been shown to be important
for mental health and wellbeing,” Dr. Roerth said. "Both from a physical
and psychological point of view, it makes sense to include employment
status in the evaluation of heart failure patients' prognosis," he said.
The doctor also noted that unemployment could be used to identify heart
failure patients who are at risk of death and that efforts made towards
getting patients back into the workforce might be beneficial.
"Knowledge on why workforce exclusion has happened for the individual
patient might lead to ideas on how it can be prevented," he said. "For
example: with more intensive rehabilitation, physical activity,
psychological treatment, or a different job."
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