Financial stress can kill you warns new study

Why your advice might actually be saving lives

Financial stress can kill you warns new study
Steve Randall
There are many unpleasant consequences of being in financial turmoil and new research adds potential death into the mix.

A study conducted in South Africa has discovered that those with significant financial stress are 13 times more likely to suffer a heart attack than those who have their finances under control.

The study graded participants’ financial stress as ‘none’ if they were coping financially, ‘mild’ if they were coping but needed support, ‘moderate’ if they had an income but were in financial distress, and ‘severe’ if they had no income and were struggling financially.

The study also looked at other stress factors and found that while heart-attacks are often linked to those who have high levels of stress relating to their work, work stress increased the risk by 5.6 times in moderate to severe cases, compared to the 13-fold increase for those in severe financial stress.

The findings are being presented this week in a special session by the European Society of Cardiology.

For financial advisors the findings highlight the impact that financial stress can have on clients with a recent study by insolvency firm MNP revealing that one in three Canadians are already feeling the effects of interest rate rises and 40% concerned that a further rise would cause them financial problems.

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