https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220922124440.htm

Asthma, heart disease, lung disease, anxiety and other mood disorders are all associated with elevated rates of medical debt, according to an analysis of data from 9,174 households that participated in the 2019 wave of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The study was published in Preventive Medicine.

"Medical debt has frequently been connected to cancer and, more recently, to diabetes. The important finding here is that medical debt is connected to a wide range of chronic conditions," said Irina Grafova, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health. "The other important finding is that this connection between chronic disease and medical debt exists at all income levels. It is not confined to lower-income households. It also holds true for middle-income and higher-income households, so it really is a society-wide issue."