Nearly 15 million Americans are in this situation — unemployed, uncertain financial future, under stress and likely to face more medical problems.

A study in the journal Demography last year documented what physicians continue to observe and what everyone seems to know in their gut: that losing a job is bad for our health. People who were laid off suffered more adverse health events, many of which persisted even after they were rehired, if they were lucky enough to get another job.

The proposed reasons included loss of insurance, lack of income to attend to medical issues, and increased stress which could lead to poorer eating and exercise habits as well as increased stress hormones that could worsen blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis.

In terms of public health, this is like a natural disaster wreaking havoc on society. The fallout could be as calamitous as that seen with hurricanes, floods or earthquakes, but all the more insidious because of how quietly and individually this disaster is taking place.

Read "When Unemployed Means Unhealthy Too" by Danielle Ofri, M.D. (NY Times).