Sociology experts at Ohio State University recently unveiled the results of a nationwide study that found a correlation between job dissatisfaction in the early years of one's career to a significant negative impact on health by the time an individual hits age 40.

The study, presented Monday Aug. 22 at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, showed that employees who are happy at work and with their chosen profession in their late 20s and throughout their 30s are less prone to health issues - both physical and mental - than their unhappy counterparts as they mature in age.

Researchers found a noted impact on physical health when it comes to job satisfaction, though the mental health toll was markedly stronger according to a report on the results. These results also showed that the direction of one's job satisfaction, for better or for worse, has an influence on health later in life.

"We found that there is a cumulative effect of job satisfaction on health that appears as early as your 40s," said Jonathan Diriam, lead author of the study and doctoral student in sociology at Ohio State University.

Co-author of the study, Hui Zheng, an associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University emphasized the importance that early jobs have on people's lives during the presentation of their research at Monday's sociological convention.

"You don't have to be near the end of your career to see the health impact of job satisfaction," Zheng said.

Good news revealed by Zheng and Diriam's research showed that individuals whose job satisfaction started low but got better over the course of their early career didn't have the health problems associated with consistent and/or declining career satisfaction.

In terms of actual consequences found in this study, employees who were unhappy with early work experiences reported poorer overall health, with more issues like chronic back pain or frequent colds. However, so-called "doctor-diagnosed" health problems like, for example, cancer or diabetes, were not shown to be impacted by career satisfaction the researchers said.

Low levels of job satisfaction for entry-level workers also showed that these individuals reported more mental and emotional health issues, with data showing an increase in the prevalence of conditions that include depression, sleep problems, and anxiety.

Finally, the research showed that employees whose reported job satisfaction increased throughout the early years of their careers did not report any comparative health problems to their unhappy counterparts, neither mental nor physical.