Smoking, drinking and body weight after re-employment: does unemployment experience and compensation make a difference?

Kelly L Bolton,Eunice Rodriguez

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-77

Abstract

BackgroundThe impact of unemployment on behaviours such as smoking, drinking and body weight has been extensively researched. However, little is known about the possible protective effects of social assistance programs on these behavioural changes. This study examines the impact of unemployment periods on smoking, drinking and body weight changes among re-employed individuals and investigates whether the receipt of unemployment benefits influences these behaviours.MethodsThis study used panel data provided by the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Logistic regression models were used to analyze whether a period of unemployment in 2000 resulted in an increase in smoking and drinking or fluctuations in body weight among 2001 re-employed individuals in comparison with 1999 baseline levels. A total of 3,451 respondents who had been initially healthy and who had been continuously employed between 1998 and 1999 were included in the analysis.ResultsCompared to stably employed respondents, those who had experienced periods of unemployment in 2000 and did not receive unemployment benefits were more likely than continuously employed individuals to report an increase in alcohol consumption (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0–3.1) and a decrease in body weight (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–2.8) when they were already re-employed in 2001.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the receipt of unemployment benefits confers a protective effect on health behavioural changes following periods of unemployment. These findings underscore the need to monitor the impact of unemployment assistance programs on health, particularly in light of the rapidly changing structure of employment and unemployment benefits.

Highlights

The impact of unemployment on behaviours such as smoking, drinking and body weight has been extensively researched
Longitudinal studies have yielded mixed results; studies in the US[21] and Sweden[22] suggest that unemployment may increase alcohol consumption, but British and Norwegian studies demonstrate no such effect [23,24,25]
Participants Data for this study were provided from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) conducted by the University of

Summary

Introduction

The impact of unemployment on behaviours such as smoking, drinking and body weight has been extensively researched. This study examines the impact of unemployment periods on smoking, drinking and body weight changes among re-employed individuals and investigates whether the receipt of unemployment benefits influences these behaviours. Investigations into the short and longterm effects of unemployment on health behaviours such as smoking, drinking and body weight have yielded mixed results. It is known that risky behaviours, such as problem drinking, result in increased unemployment[18]. Longitudinal studies have yielded mixed results; studies in the US[21] and Sweden[22] suggest that unemployment may increase alcohol consumption, but British and Norwegian studies demonstrate no such effect [23,24,25]. There is some evidence that the relationship between unemployment and alcohol use may be timedependent; a recent investigation suggested that shortterm unemployment decreases alcohol use while longer unemployment increases it[26]

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