A new study says that young people who are deep in debt are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure and poorer general and mental health.
With the cost of living going through the roof every passing day, young adults are forced to take loans to meet their daily expenditures. Some of these adults begin taking loans right from their college days to pay for tuition. This loan amount keeps growing and soon the borrower finds himself drowning in high debts.
Researchers of a new study found that young people who are deep in debt are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure and poorer general and mental health. The findings were the result of a study that analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to explore the association between debt and both psychological and general health outcomes in 8,400 young adults aged 24 to 32 years.
While conducting the study, researchers noted that 20 percent of the study participants admitted that they would not be able to pay off their debt even if they liquidated all their assets. This lead to an increase in depression, higher perceived stress and poorer physical and mental health conditions.
Researchers found that individuals with high debts experienced a 1.3 percent increase in diastolic blood pressure. This increase led to a 17 percent higher risk of hypertension and a 15 percent higher risk of stroke.
"You wouldn't necessarily expect to see associations between debt and physical health in people who are so young," Elizabeth Sweet, lead author of the study, said in a press release. "We need to be aware of this association and understand it better. Our study is just a first peek at how debt may impact physical health."
A similar study conducted last week by researchers from Bloomington's College of Arts and Sciences found that a student's college experience is influenced by the loan debt accrued. Students who have taken no loans are more likely to be into socializing than studying during their college days while students who take loans to pay for college are likely to study harder to get a good job and pay off the loan.
However, there are a group of students who take loans to pay for college tuition but think of the loan as a burden. Instead of studying well, they prefer to indulge in extracurricular activities outside the college campus.
According to an American Student Association report, nearly 20 million Americans go to college each year, out of which 60 per cent take loans to cover college expenses.
An April report by Fast Web states that outstanding student loan debts exceeded $1 trillion in March 2012. Student loans are the number two on the loan debt list, coming second only to mortgage. The number of youngsters opting for student loans has increased by 300 per cent over the last 8 years.
