Effects of the Great Recession on Educational Disparities in Cardiometabolic Health

Macroeconomic crises can exaggerate existing educational disparities in health. Few studies, however, have examined whether macroeconomic crises get under the skin to affect educational disparities in health-related biological processes.

This study aimed to examine the effect of the economic recession of 2008 (i.e., Great Recession) on educational disparities in cardiometabolic risk and self-reported psychological distress.

Data were drawn from two subsamples of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study: the second wave of the MIDUS sample (pre-recession cohort, N = 985) and the refresher sample (post-recession cohort, N = 863). Educational attainment was categorized into high school education or less, some college, and bachelor's degree or higher. Outcomes included metabolic syndrome, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6, as well as self-reported perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and financial distress.

Results showed that having a bachelor's degree or higher (compared to having a high school education or less) was more strongly associated with decreased metabolic syndrome symptoms in the post-recession cohort than the pre-recession cohort, above and beyond demographic, health, and behavioral covariates. These findings did not extend to systemic inflammation or psychological distress.

Our findings suggest that chronic macroeconomic stressors may widen the educational gap in physical health, particularly cardiometabolic health, by modifying biological and anthropometric risk factors implicated in metabolic syndrome.