A new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University examined levels of stress from three surveys conducted in 1983, 2006, and 2009. The results from all three surveys showed that women and people with lower income and lower levels of education were more stressed than other members of society.
The data also indicated that stress levels increased from 1983 to the more recent levels by a degree of between 10 percent and 30 percent.
Increased levels of stress have been shown to put people at greater risk for cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders. The research was published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology and can be accessed here.