The 2008 financial crash and austerity had NO overall impact on health in Britain and Western Europe, concludes major study
- The study was based on death data between 1980 and 2014 for 17 countries
- The Dutch research also included self-reported health data from 27 nations
- Death rates and sickness increased in people of low education in the US
- But the same problem was not found in Western Europe, according to the study
The 2008 financial crash and austerity had no overall impact on health in Britain and western Europe, a major study has found.
While the US saw an increase in sickness and people dying prematurely, Western Europe was not affected.
The study of 27 countries found that in the UK and other Western European countries death rates ‘declined steadily among people of high and low education levels throughout the period studied, with no interruption in this trend during the financial crisis’.
In Eastern European countries mortality rates also declined.
Official: The 2008 financial crash and austerity had no overall impact on health in Britain and western Europe, a major study has found
This was in marked contrast with the US, where death rates and sickness increased in people of low education.
The research was based on mortality data between 1980 and 2014 for 17 countries and self-reported health data from 27 countries.
The authors report ‘In the countries most severely affected by the financial crisis, declines in self-assessed health slowed following the crisis, but did so equally for people of low and high education levels.’
The authors led by Johan Mackenbach of Erasmus University in the Netherlands wrote: ‘Our results show that the unfavorable trends observed in the US are not found in Europe.’
They added western European countries including Britain were ‘not associated with widening health inequalities’.
The results suggest that European countries avoided short-term aggravation of health inequalities from the financial crisis.
In the wake of the financial crisis in the UK, charities reported increases in calls to mental health helplines and the use of food banks
The report noted that in some of the countries severely hit by the crash: Greece, Spain and Portugal, suicide rates did rise, although death from all causes continued to decline overall
The authors suggest that having health care available to poorer members of society helped shield the most disadvantaged from the impact of the crash.
But they said that it was also possible that some regions in the UK may have been harder hit than others.
The authors report that in the wake of previous recessions, there are usually limited effects on a population’s health – typically increases in suicide and alcohol related deaths. Road traffic deaths, on a more positive note, usually decrease.
The authors note: ‘There has also been no discernible short-term impact of the crisis on health inequalities at the population level. Both findings suggest that European countries have been successful in avoiding an aggravation of health inequalities.
In the wake of the financial crisis in the UK, charities reported increases in calls to mental health helplines and the use of food banks.
While the researchers say that overall health in the UK was unaffected, there may be regional differences that are masked in the overall figures.
The authors, publishing their research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US write: ‘For example, in the UK the impact of public sector budget cuts has been felt most severely in deprived regions, and the full effects of the crisis therefore may not be detectable in national-level data.’
The report noted that in some of the countries severely hit by the crash: Greece, Spain and Portugal, suicide rates did rise, although death from all causes continued to decline overall.
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