Stress and Heart Disease: Evidence of Associations Between Unemployment and Heart Disease From the OPCS Longitudinal Study

Both overall & cause-specific mortality patterns in 1971-81 among men & women directly or indirectly affected by unemployment in April 1971 were studied. Findings are summarized with attention to mortality from circulatory diseases. The study seems to support hypotheses about relationships between stress & overall mortality, with a marked excess for suicides. Sharp contrasts in unemployment patterns make it difficult to extrapolate from these findings to the present day. 9 Refs. (LH)