Psychiatria pre prax 6/2002

Somatic diseases and unemployment

During a few decades psychosocial events in one´s life have been studied regarding their impact on human health. Loss of a job is one of them. An affected person reacts to a job loss mainly by emotions. Consequences are psychological and psychiatric, both short term and long term. Usually socials conditions are worsened. All of these then influence somatic diseases besides of increased alcohol use, drug use, rise in suicide rates and increased mortality. In this connection, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes and asthma are most commonly mentioned. Others include dermatological disorders. The article comments on papers lately made available on web sources.

Keywords: unemployment, depression, diabetes, asthma, hypertension.