What, Me worry? The Health and Financial Correlation
Have market losses ever made you sick? If so, according to a recent study by Joseph Engelberg and Christopher Parsons associate professors of finance at the University of California at San Diego, you are not alone. After examining three decades of hospital admission data they concluded that hospitalizations rise on days when shares fall and that “people are hospitalized disproportionately for mental conditions”. Their research shows that equity market losses appeared to induce 3700 market related hospitalizations a year in California alone. When the data is extrapolated nationally, using the Census Bureau data showing the average hospitalization event costs around $21,000, they estimate the U.S. economic impact to be roughly $650 million a year.
Other data indicates that losing money can cause physical illness as well. Lisa Kramer, an associate professor of finance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, cites a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology which demonstrated a correlation between heart attacks and stock market decreases during the 2008-09 financial crisis.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Our experience is that the primary reason people work with us to become comfortable within their own finances. Instead of worrying yourself sick, pick up the phone. Give us a call or send an email. Perhaps we can help you understand the situation. Maybe there is more to the story. Regardless, you do not have to carry the burden by yourself. We are here to lighten your load. After all, you can’t make an omelet without cracking a few eggs.
Photo: Worried Eggs II – Should not have come this way… by Domiriel