Unemployment and inflammatory markers in England, Wales and Scotland, 1998–2012: Meta-analysis of results from 12 studies
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Unemployment represents for many affected individuals a substantial source of psychosocial stress, and is linked to both increased risk of morbidity and mortality and adverse health-related behaviours. Few studies have examined the association of unemployment with systemic inflammation, a plausible mediator of the associations of psychosocial stress and health, and results are mixed and context dependent. This study examines the association of unemployment with C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen, two markers of systemic inflammation. METHODS: A random-effects meta-analysis was performed using a multilevel modelling approach, including 12 national UK surveys of working-age participants in which CRP and fibrinogen were measured between 1998 and 2012 (N=30,037 economically active participants). The moderating impact of participant age and UK country was explored. RESULTS: CRP and fibrinogen were elevated in unemployed compared to employed participants; jobseekers were also more likely (Odds Ratio: 1.39, p<0.001) to have CRP levels corresponding to high cardiovascular risk (>3mg/L), after adjustment for age, gender, education, long-term illness, smoking, and body mass index. Associations were not explained by mental health. Associations peaked in middle-age, and were stronger in Scotland and Wales than in England. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that systemic inflammation is associated with an important but little-studied aspect of the social environment, as it is elevated in unemployed compared to employed survey participants. Modifications suggest the association of unemployment and inflammation is substantially influenced by contextual factors, and may be especially strong in Wales, where further investigation of this relationship is needed.
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Stress can undermine health by increasing the number and severity of somatic symptoms, the probability of infection and severity of symptoms following exposure to a cold virus, and systemic inflammation.
“Stress can undermine health in many ways, for example, by increasing the number and severity of somatic symptoms,31 the probability of infection and the severity of symptoms following exposure to a cold virus,32 and systemic inflammation.33”
From Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators (2022) · cites this paper as [33]
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Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators
Lee, D. S., Jiang, T., Crocker, J., & Way, B. M. (2022) · Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2021.0188 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hughes, A., Kumari, M., McMunn, A., & Bartley, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Essex (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hughes, Amanda
- Venue
- Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-08
- Volume
- 64
- Pages
- 91-102
- ISSN
- 0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2602473316
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 0.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Brain Behavior and Immunity (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Open Access at Essex (University of Essex) (acceptedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Essex (ES/M008592/1, RES-596-28-0001)
- Economic and Social Research Council (RES 596-28-0001, ES/M008592/1, ES/J019119/1)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Keywords
- unemployment, systemic inflammation, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, psychosocial stress, job seekers, cardiovascular risk, working-age adults, social determinants of health, age differences, regional variation, Scotland, Wales, England
- MeSH terms
- Adult, C-Reactive Protein, Employment, England, Female, Fibrinogen, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Middle Aged, Scotland, Stress, Psychological, Unemployment, Wales, Biomarkers, Inflammation Mediators, Young Adult
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