• Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
24/7 Health News
No Result
View All Result
Home Article

College students with loans more likely to report bad health and skip medicine and care, study finds

August 4, 2023
in Article
College students with loans more likely to report bad health and skip medicine and care, study finds
A new study found that those with student loans are more likely to delay medical, dental and mental health care. PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

Table of Contents

  • The big idea
  • Why it matters
  • What’s next

The big idea

Students who took out loans to pay for college rated their overall health and mental health as being worse than those who didn’t take out student loans. They also reported more major medical problems and were more likely to report delaying medical, dental and mental health care and using less medication than the amount prescribed to save money.

We reported these findings in an article published in the Journal of American College Health. The findings are based on surveys collected in 2017 from over 3,200 college students at two public universities in the United States.

We asked students to rate their physical and mental health on a 4-point scale – excellent, good, fair and poor. We also asked if they had experienced any major medical problems in the past year or whether they had ever postponed medical, dental or mental health care to make ends meet since starting college. Those who indicated they were taking regular medication for physical health problems, such as for asthma or high blood pressure, were asked if they ever took less medication than prescribed to save money.

Students with loans reported worse outcomes than those without loans, even after accounting for differences between them in terms of race, age and gender, as well as their parents’ education level and marital status.

Despite their worse self-reported mental health, students with loans were equally likely as students without loans to have received a new mental health diagnosis or treatment for a mental disorder in college. They also were equally likely to have visited a mental health practitioner in the past year or to use mental health medication. But they were almost twice as likely as those without debt to report delaying mental health care.

Why it matters

Our findings suggest that student loans may have hidden costs in the form of worse physical and mental health, more medical problems and diminished use of medical and mental health care. Stress from student loans can affect students while they are still in college, harming both mental and physical health.

College students are often at a crucial juncture when they are first leaving their parents’ home and establishing habits – such as those related to medical and dental care – that may persist beyond college. Declining to seek medical care can result in worse medical problems, potentially leading to diminished health and shorter lives for college graduates with loans.

One of the advantages of getting a college degree is improved health. But students who take out loans to attend college may not see those benefits, especially if they defer medical care or use less medicine to save money.

Previous generations had greater access to free or low-cost public higher education – access that has eroded as state budgets failed to keep up with the rising demand for and costs of higher education. The current system of higher education funding requires most people to take on debt to get a college degree; the most recent national data indicates that among 2019 graduates of public or private nonprofit, four-year universities, 62% had student debt.

What’s next

We are writing a book that explores how debt affects life after college, including the consequences for health, housing, romantic relationships and career trajectories. So far, we have found that inequalities in health and delays in doctor visits persist after graduation. We have also found that college graduates who put off doctor visits to save money in college were a little over twice as likely to experience a recent major medical problem 15 months and 3.5 years after graduation. We also found they were over four times as likely to be be putting off medical care to save money after graduation, showing these habits persist well after they leave college.

The Conversation

Arielle Kuperberg receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

Joan Maya Mazelis receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

ShareTweetSharePin
Next Post
Why pain is so hard to measure – and how our study of brainwaves could help

Why pain is so hard to measure – and how our study of brainwaves could help

Most Read

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

What causes stuttering? A speech pathology researcher explains the science and the misconceptions around this speech disorder

December 15, 2022
morning back pain

Morning Again Ache Trigger Is Not the Mattress

October 11, 2021

4 steps to building a healthier relationship with your phone

January 28, 2025

Why Circadian Rhythms Matter for Your Health

July 30, 2024
lower back pain relief exercises

5 decrease again ache aid workouts

October 11, 2021
3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms

October 15, 2021
bleeding in gum

When The Bleeding in gum Is Severe ?

October 11, 2021
Good Night Sleep

6 Causes of Good Evening Sleep

October 11, 2021
Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

December 14, 2022
Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide

Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide

May 20, 2025

COVID vaccines: how one can pace up rollout in poorer international locations

October 5, 2021
Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

October 12, 2021
Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

January 3, 2023
Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

Support and collaboration with health-care providers can help people make health decisions

December 16, 2021

Maximize Your Performance – Sync with Your Circadian Rhythms

August 9, 2024
woman covered with white blanket

Exploring the Impact of Sleep Patterns on Mental Health

August 4, 2024
Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

Five ways to avoid pain and injury when starting a new exercise regime

December 30, 2022

This Simple Hygiene Habit Could Cut Your Risk of Stroke, New Research Reveals

February 1, 2025
Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

Greece to make COVID vaccines mandatory for over-60s, but do vaccine mandates work?

December 1, 2021

Multiple sclerosis: the link with earlier infection just got stronger – new study

October 12, 2021
GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

GPs don’t give useful weight-loss advice – new study

December 16, 2022
News of war can impact your mental health — here’s how to cope

Binge-eating disorder is more common than many realise, yet it’s rarely discussed – here’s what you need to know

December 2, 2022
Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

Nurses’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds

December 2, 2022
FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

May 21, 2025
As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

December 14, 2022

🧬 How Your DNA Affects Exercise: The Science of Personalized Fitness

May 21, 2025
How regulatory agencies, not the courts, are imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates

How regulatory agencies, not the courts, are imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates

October 24, 2021
Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

Four ways to avoid gaining weight over the festive period – but also why you shouldn’t fret about it too much

December 22, 2022
Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience

Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience

January 28, 2025
How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

July 6, 2022
  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS

  • Home
  • Health & Wellness
  • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice

© 2020 DAILY HEALTH NEWS