Sten-Olof Brenner

Neuroendocrine and immunologic effects of unemployment and job insecurity.

We prospectively followed a cohort of 354 blue-collar men and women, some of whom lost their jobs. Results show marked effects during the anticipatory and early unemployment phase on mental well-being, serum cortisol, prolactin, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and phytohemagglutinin reactivity of lymphocytes. Most of these changes appear to be of short-term duration. However, changes in cardiovascular risk factors are observed at least 2 years following the loss of ones job. Coping style appears to be a major determinant whether or not and how people will react to unemployment.

Structural changes, ill health, and mortality in Sweden, 1963-1983: a macroaggregated study.

An exploratory time series analysis was performed on selected indicators of structural change, health behavior, and ill health in Sweden in the years 1963–1983. Both synchronic (nonlagged) and asynchronic (lagged) analyses were made. The synchronic analysis of variations in the suicide rate reveals two main contributory factors: level of employment and overtime work. For cardiovascular mortality in men, the synchronic and the two-year time lagged analyses reveal that the sale of alcohol and, to a certain extent, the length of the period of unemployment play a major role. In an analysis with a three-year time lag, only one significant factor for both men and women is revealed, namely the level of employment. In the synchronic analysis of cirrhosis mortality in men, the sale of alcohol plays a dominant role. The results of the synchronic analysis of the variations in sick leave show a similar pattern for both men and women. In both cases, the sale of alcohol is positively associated and the proportion of unemployed industrial workers negatively associated with sick leave. The results give rise to a number of questions. For example, how should these findings be interpreted and how should they be related to existing knowledge about the links between business cycles and changes in the health of the population? The answers to such questions are of importance both from a scientific viewpoint and with regard to health policy. We argue that the answers require further studies of the characteristics of the periods in the business cycle and of how these periods affect peoples lives, living conditions, and behavioral patterns in general.

The Psychological, Social, and Biochemical Impacts of Unemployment in Sweden: Description of a Research Project

In order to understand the meaning of unemployment in Sweden, it is important to consider the cultural attitudes toward work. The following discussion is not intended to explain every individual response to job loss, but rather to provide a sense of the general orientation common to many Swedes.1 Until the late 19th century, 80% of the population of Sweden was agrarian, the vast majority of Swedes working as farmers and living either in villages or on solitary farmsteads. Life was stable, but materially difficult. Under this primarily agrarian social system, if someone was unable to work because of crop failure, loss of land tenure, etc.he was regarded by the state, the church, and the community as a vagrant. Most unemployed people were impressed

Regional variations in cardiovascular mortality in Sweden—Structural vulnerability in the local community

The aim of this investigation was to study the connection between various phenomena in the local community and the number of deaths from ischemic heart disease (IHD) for both men and women in the 45-64 age group in the period 1979-1983. The result reveals considerable regional variation. Those areas with an above average male IHD mortality also tended to differ from the norm as regards labour market, and socioeconomic conditions. There was a tendency for unemployment to be higher, the level of employment to be lower, and the number of households with no or only one person gainfully employed larger; there also tended to be more people who had taken or been forced into early retirement, average incomes tended to be lower and there was an above average proportion of blue-collar workers and a below average proportion of white-collar workers. Furthermore, there proved to be a larger proportion of older men. The factors which did not seem to be related to the number of IHD deaths were the divorce rate in the community and the degree of population density. As regards women, there was a less marked connection between the various regional phenomena and the number of IHD deaths. The mortality rate proved to be related to only two factors: the level of unemployment in the community and the proportion of high-income earners. There was a tendency, albeit weak, that areas with an above average mortality also had an above average rate of unemployment and a lower than average proportion of high-income earners.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)