Fear of Job Loss is Associated with Hypertension in Working Latino Adults

ALBANY, N.Y. (Dec. 6, 2022) – A new report published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health suggests that fear of job loss can lead to hypertension among the working Latinx population. Elizabeth Vásquez of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics contributed to the study, which used data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey from working Latino adults and was developed under the Analysis of Latino and Migrant health for Action (ALMA) lab led by Dr. Sandra Echeverria.

Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the U.S., and those who identify as Latino are more likely to die from complications of hypertension than their white peers. Latinos currently make up 17.7 percent of the total U.S. population, a number which is projected to rise to 30 percent by 2050. It is therefore crucial that the environmental and social conditions that contribute to health disparities in this group are addressed.

“There is an urgent need to examine work stressors in studies on Latino health given that this group is expected to have the most labor force growth over the next 10 years. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between fear of job loss and self-reported hypertension in a nationally representative sample of working Latino adults,” explains Vásquez.

While it is generally accepted that high levels of stress can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, most U.S. studies of stress in the workplace have focused on individuals with hazardous jobs or have examined broad occupational categories (for example, comparing employed people to unemployed people). These broadly conceived studies can fail to capture the effects that specific work practices or conditions can have on workers.

Previous research on the U.S. workforce has shown that certain characteristics, such as job insecurity and low decision latitude, can lead to an increased risk of hypertension. Latinos are overrepresented in precarious employment fields that and are more likely to take part in subcontracted, temporary, on-call, or freelance work, factors that are known to cause chronic stress. Latino workers also have the highest rates of workplace mortality out of all U.S. workers, a number that climbs even higher when foreign-born workers are included in the data.

But according to Vásquez, “Research is lacking on the relationship between job insecurity and hypertension prevalence, especially among U.S. Latino adult workers. We know that Latino workers are disproportionately exposed to stressors that can increase risk of hypertension, but there is very little data on Latino workers specifically.”

The study conducted by Vásquez and her colleagues at ALMA concluded that fear of job loss as a work stressor was indeed associated with higher prevalence of hypertension among Latino workers, even after adjusting for demographic factors, socio-economic status, and nativity. Additionally, foreign-born workers were more likely to fear losing their employment than U.S.-born workers and experienced hypertension at double the rate of their U.S.-born counterparts. The authors hypothesize that this may be attributed to the fact that foreign-born workers have less access to employment benefits and safety net programs, particularly if they are not authorized to work in the U.S.

One important insight gleaned from the study is that health behaviors, specifically smoker status and unhealthy weight, did not mediate the relationship between fear of job loss and hypertension. “This finding is important because it indicates that work contexts are critical to reducing cardiovascular disease risk, especially for Latinx who are over-represented in precarious employment,” says Vásquez.

Overall, the study highlights the need for additional research on the role of the workplace in health, particularly amongst populations that have historically experienced health inequalities. Vásquez concludes, “In the future, I hope to see other researchers begin to think critically and include variables such as social determinants in their efforts to reduce health disparities experienced by vulnerable populations.”