This is especially surprisingly when you consider that women and young people are not the typical risk groups for hypertension. Normally, this condition is most notorious for affecting the wellbeing of older people, particularly men.
The results of the study suggest that young people and women who are on the lower end of the pay scales should have blood pressure screenings regularly and advised about what to do if they have any health concerns.
Results of the study have been published in the European Journal of Public Health, and it is the first of its type to isolate low wages as a factor when studying the condition of hypertension. This debilitating disease occurs when the pressure behind the blood circulating in the human body is too high, and it affects nearly one in three adults, costing health services around the world a phenomenal amount of money. It also results in patients missing work and requiring ongoing medical treatment. Hypertension can also lead to stroke and to heart disease – two very serious conditions which can lead to disability or even death.
The study used a total of 5,651 households in the USA and studied their health and wages over the course of several years. A possible flaw in the study is that it relied on respondents reporting (and obtaining) diagnoses of hypertension, something which perhaps women would be more likely to do than men.