82% Indians bogged down by stress: Cigna 360 Well-being study

Mumbai: Close to 82% Indians are suffering from stress on account of work, health and finance-related concerns, a global well-being study conducted by healthcare major Cigna Corporation has found.

“Stress levels in India remain very high compared to other developed and emerging countries such as the USA, UK, Germany, France and Australia,” the Cigna 360 Well-Being Survey 2019 noted. Those in the age-group of 35-49 years – termed the sandwich generation – are the most stressed of the lot, followed by millennials. Around 89% of the ‘sandwiched’ respondents said they were affected by some level of stress compared to 87% of millennials and 64% of those over 50 years of age. “Less than half think they are doing well financially. They question their financial ability to meet their parents’ medical needs. Only 51% feel confident about their ability compared to 58% of millennials and 62% of those over 50,” the study stated.

Contrary to global findings, Indian men (85%) reported higher levels of stress compared to working women (82%). Top causes of stress for women are heavy workload, family finance concerns and personal health concerns.


India fared better than the global average with respect to awareness of heart health indicators. Compared to 51% worldwide, 61% respondents said they knew their BMI and 76% (global average – 66%) were aware of their blood pressure. However, their score was poorer on other counts. “They are aware of an average of 2.2 symptoms that may indicate potential heart problems compared to the global average of 2.4. Even worse, in the past six months, respondents experienced an average number of 2.3 symptoms compared to 1.8 globally,” noted the study. One in three respondents did not think high blood pressure was curable with lifestyle change, indicating a gap in heath health awareness.