Job Insecurity Increases Asthma Risk

Fear of loss of job increases a person's risk of developing asthma, according to a new research.

Past epidemiological studies of asthma and stress showed that office-related anxiety was mainly responsible for asthma risk.

For the current study, the researchers examined more than 7,000 working adults from the German Socio-Economic Panel study between 2009 and 2011.

The study was conducted during a period of economic slump in Europe. In 2009, participants were asked to predict how likely they are to lose their jobs over the next two years.

According to the research findings, those who felt that they were more likely to lose their job tended to be, younger, single, less educated and have lower monthly incomes compared to those who felt the risk was low or non-existent.

Furthermore, the job insecurity also increased the risk of depression and decreased the likelihood of being employed on permanent contracts.

Researchers took into account several sociodemographic factors, depression and lifestyle. They found that asthma risk increased with the rising job insecurity. According to the researchers, an individual's risk of developing first-time asthma spiked by 24 percent for every 25 percent increase in perceived threat of job loss.

Asthma risk increased by 60 percent in participants who thought they were extremely likely to lose their jobs.

Researchers wrote that the study findings are "consistent with epidemiological studies, which have shown that psychological stress in particular work related stress, may be risk factors for new onset asthma."

"Our findings may also provide a possible explanation for the increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms during the recent economic crisis in the UK," researchers concluded.

The findings were published in the BMJ-British Medical Journal.