Reversal of Upward Trends in Mortality During the Great Recession by Employment Status at Baseline in a National Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Because of the healthy worker effect, mortality rates increased in individuals who were employed and those who were unemployed, and decreased in those economically inactive at baseline in reported studies. To determine if such trends continue during economic recessions, we analyzed mortality rates in Spain before and during the Great Recession in these subgroups. We included 21,933,351 individuals who were employed, unemployed, or inactive in November 2001 and aged 30–64 years in each calendar-year of follow-up (2002–2011). Annual age-adjusted mortality rates were calculated in each group. The annual percentage change in mortality rates adjusted for age and educational level in employed and unemployed persons were also calculated for 2002–2007 and 2008–2011. In employed and unemployed men, mortality rates increased until 2007 and then declined, whereas in employed and unemployed women, mortality rates increased and then stabilized during 2008–2011. The mortality rate among inactive men and women decreased throughout the follow-up. In the employed and the unemployed, the annual percentage change was reversed during 2008–2011 compared with 2002–2007 (−1.2 vs. 3.2 in employed men; −0.3 vs. 4.1 in employed women; −0.8 vs. 2.9 in unemployed men; and −0.6 vs. 1.3 in unemployed women). The upward trends in mortality rates among individuals who were employed or unemployed in 2001 were reversed during the Great Recession (2008–2011).