A higher percentage of people polled in Atlantic, Cape May, Salem and Cumberland counties reported having some stress or a great deal of stress, compared to four other regions in the state.
The poll also looked at the effects of income, demographics, health, insurance status and other factors on a person’s stress level.
“I think we were all a little bit surprised,” Joel Cantor, director of the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy said of the region’s higher stress levels. “We see little regional difference but we did see it was higher in the southeastern part of the state.”
Stress isn’t just annoying, Cantor said, it can be a significant health issue.
“There’s plenty of evidence that higher levels of stress affects health outcomes,” he said. “Heart disease and high blood pressure are all manifestations of higher stress levels.”