Your credit score reveals how physically and mentally healthy you are, study finds

November 19, 2014  20:36

Your credit score could reveal how healthy you are, a new study has found. Researchers studied 1,000 New Zealanders for 38 years - and found a strong relationship between low credit scores and poor cardiovascular health. They say many of the issues that affect our credit rating can also have an impact on our health. Researchers say people who don't take care of their money don't take care of their health.

Using a standard measure called the Framingham cardiovascular risk score, the Duke researchers estimated the 'heart age' of their participants, based on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar and smoking habits. At age 38, the participants' Framingham 'heart ages' ranged from 22 to 85 years. Participants with higher credit scores had younger 'heart ages.'

The components of the Dunedin study's human capital measure - educational attainment, cognitive ability and self-control - each predicted higher credit scores and younger heart age.

The new analysis is from a long-term study of the physical and mental health of more than 1,000 New Zealanders who have been monitored continuously from birth to age 38.

The latest paper from the study, appearing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has found a strong relationship between low credit scores and poor cardiovascular health.

'What it comes down to is that people who don't take care of their money don't take care of their health,' said study leader Terrie Moffitt from Duke University.

'This doesn't mean that poor financial management hurts your health,' post-doctoral researcher Salomon Israel of Duke University says.

'It's that the sort of personal attributes that can lead to a poor credit score can also contribute to poor health.'

This and other studies from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study in New Zealand have found that self-control, planning ahead and perseverance are attributes that predict both better financial status and better health. 

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