Stress, health risks rise as economic headwinds bite on Nigerians

The worsening economic situation in Nigeria, exacerbated by perennial fuel scarcity, power outages and scarcity of foreign exchange, could be posing a serious health risk, and increase mortality among citizens, analysts say.

The analysts who spoke to BusinessDay last night, say the psychological import of the harsh economic realities arising from declining standards of living, sleeping at night without electricity, long queues at filling stations, increasing loss of jobs and closure of businesses, are some of the factors which typically increase stress and other health risks.

This, the analysts say, is more of a hazard for people who already have serious medical conditions. Some say they face difficulties in paying medical bills and worry that the sluggish economy is hurting their health now and will continue to do so in the future except urgent measures are taken.

Consequently, Nigerians have been advised to take health insurance policies for cheaper access to medicare, even as insurers advise on life policies to protect dependants should death occur in the course of seeking for economic survival.

Obi Igbokwe, preventive medicine advocate and founder, WellNewMe, a wellness solutions company, said such economic hardships that Nigerians are currently enduring, can lead to deteriorating health. “The loss of a job, the inability to meet current financial obligations and economic uncertainty, are all factors that can, and do cause stress.”

Igbokwe further stated that when left unchecked for long, stress takes its toll on the body and presents itself in a number of ways, such as change in appetite, headaxhea, muscle and joint pains,  increased blood pressure, and lower immunity, which makes a person more susceptible to infectious diseases.

“There is also a psychological impact which manifests in rapid changes in moods, anxiety attacks and poor decision making. Sometimes, the presence of these symptoms can cause stress in themselves, hereby worsening an individual’s health situation, Igbokwe noted.

Kasisomayajula “Vish” Viswanath, a professor of health communication at Harvard School of Public Health, said people talk about poverty and inequality resulting from economic hardship but do not extend that logic to the effects on health.”

Viswanath said in addition to cataloging the health harms resulting directly from stress, many studies suggest that economic pressures may also give rise to a host of unhealthy behaviors—such as bingeing on sugary or high-fat content foods, smoking, and drinking to escape worries—as well as to widening economic disparities, which exact a documented toll on people’s health.

There has long been substantial evidence linking job loss to shorter lives and more health-related problems. A 2009 study on the impact of the 1980s oil crisis and subsequent recession in Pennsylvania, published by economists Daniel Sullivan and Till von Wachter, in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, found that in the year after men lost their jobs in mass layoffs, their chances of dying doubled.

Tope Adeniyi, CEO, AXA Mansard Health, said in an interview with BusinessDay, that having not to pay from your pocket when you have a health crisis is key to managing healthcare risks’.

Adeniyi said the focus of his company’s health insurance scheme is to provide domestic and international quality healthcare solutions to the populace, through properly structured healthcare financing insurance and healthcare administration.

“Overall, we can provide high quality healthcare that is affordable, by polling premium from many people to take care of those who fall sick and with this, we are able to provide healthcare plans which people might individually not be able to afford on their own, in the event of serious health risks, Adeniyi observed.

George Onekhena, deputy commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission, said life insurance is the foundation of financial fitness and any family that does not have such a financial plan, should the unexpected happen, is a financial misfit.

Onekhena advised that people should take up term assurance cover for the protection of their families and dependants.

Term Assurance, according to experts, is a type of life insurance policy that provides coverage for a certain period of time, or a specified “term” of years. If the insured dies during the time frame specified in the policy and the policy is active – or in force – then a death benefit will be paid.