One positive to the mind-numbing economic recession we're currently struggling through? It could be good for our health! A recent study shows that despite higher unemployment and a great reduction in moolah, we could actually benefit from a recession in terms of overall health.

The study analyzed mortality rates from years of economic downturn, such as the Great Depression from 1920 - 1940, and found that annual death rates actually declined, and increased in years of expansion, aka, when the money is flowing.

"For most age groups, mortality tended to peak during years of strong economic expansion," the authors wrote in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "In contrast, the recessions of 1921, 1930-1933 ad 1938 coincided with declines in mortality and gains in life expectancy."

Though researchers aren't quite sure why this could be, speculation lies in the increased work hours, which brings more stress and a higher number of traffic and industrial accidents, all of which are more common during positive economic times. People also tend to smoke and drink more when money isn't as big a concern.

The research team monitored the six largest causes of death: cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, cancer, flu and pneumonia, motor vehicle deaths and suicide. The only one that increased was suicide, but overall, this accounted for less than 2% of all mortality, so overall, death rates decreased.

"It is increasingly known that over time, stress in the work place can increase the risk of things like heart attacks," said Tapia Granados of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

"There are other possibilities which are speculative," he added. "Many people believe that the Depression was a period of social support. When you are at risk of losing your job, you get much more connected with members of your community." Social support seems to improve health, he said.

Another possibility to lower mortality rates could be less pollution as a result of less cars on the road and less industrial building and manufacturing.

The study's findings are average at best, and researchers are not jumping to conclusions just yet.

"Clearly the health of some people will suffer -- think of the unemployed -- while the health of others will benefit. As it seems from the data I and others have analyzed, the beneficial aspects seem to outweigh the detrimental aspects," says Eric Neumayer of the London School of Economics, who found similar effects for economic recessions in Germany.

Not all agree with the findings, and suggest that although mortality may temporarily decrease during a recession, death rates will boomerang and come back higher when the economy bounces back. Harvey Brenner of the University of North Texas Health Science Center and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore says,

"It is true that there is a very short-term decline in mortality during the period of recession itself coupled with a large increase in damaging mental health effects." He continues, "Unemployment remains high, and companies overwork their remaining employees as business picks back up. In the medium- to longer-term, the effect of recession is to increase mortality substantially."

What do you think - could lower mortality rates be the silver lining to a cloudy recession, or is this just a bunch of bologna? It seems it is too early to tell, either way.

via Discovery