Wonkblog
‘Everybody outside of the top is suffering’: How stress is harming America’s health
By Ana Swanson December 13
(Washington Post illustration; iStock)
The stresses of poverty in the United States have grown so intense that they are harming the health of lower-income Americans — even prematurely leading to their death.
A report published Monday by the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution finds that stress levels have greatly increased for Americans at all income levels since the 1970s, but especially for low-income groups, as the chart below shows.
The report doesn’t measure stress as we typically think about it in daily life. Instead, the researchers track “stress load,” an index of certain biological markers such as blood pressure, cholesterol level, and kidney and liver function, that they say are “associated with long-term physiological strain.” These metrics are strong indicators of a person’s health and mortality, according to the report.
“The poor have seen really striking increases in the stress load index,” said Diane Schanzenbach, one of the report’s authors and the director of the Hamilton Project.
How my heart sings 
I love your drawing…..wonderful Katherine…..I believe wholeheartedly that stress levels are key iin causing ill health both physically and mentally. I hope you are well and can enjoy the holiday season. :)XX
At least I am at home now Janet thank you very much for your good wishes. The drawing of the collage made from three drawings which I cut up and glued together and I was very pleased with it I’m hoping to find the original I’m sure I’ve got it somewhere
How many people can’t afford enough food? Stress and anxiety must be very high for people at that level of society
But doing something creative there’s a great antidote to stress
Yes it is a great antidote to our very stressful world. Glad you are home and thinking art X