The Effect of Unemployment on Health and Mortality: A Longitudinal Study on Workplace Downsizing and Closure.

Liina Junna , University of Helsinki
Heta Moustgaard, University of Helsinki
Pekka Martikainen, University of Helsinki

Unemployment has been found to be associated with poor health, but to which degree this association is causal remains contested. Unemployment due to workplace closure or downsizing can be considered a natural experiment from which stronger causal inference can be drawn, yet few large-scale longitudinal studies have used this design for addressing unemployment and health, and with contradicting results. The purpose of this study is to compare the health outcomes of individuals unemployed from stable, downsizing and closed workplaces to unexposed controls. The study will be based on longitudinal, nationally representative register data of Finnish residents aged 25 to 63 years between the years 1989 and 2009 (2,687,695 person years). Multivariate Cox’s regression models will be used to analyze cause-specific first incidence hospitalization or death. Analyses will be conducted for men and women separately and adjusted for relevant characteristics such as age, marital status, education, and health and employment history.

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 Presented in Session 5. Health & Mortality 1