IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 5386: State-Level Income Inequality and County-Level Social Capital in Relation to Individual-Level Depression in Middle-Aged Adults: A Lagged Multilevel Study

IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 5386: State-Level Income Inequality and County-Level Social Capital in Relation to Individual-Level Depression in Middle-Aged Adults: A Lagged Multilevel Study International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph17155386 Authors: Saloni Dev Daniel Kim In the US, the incidence of depression and suicide have followed escalating trends over the past several years. These trends call for greater efforts towards identifying their underlying drivers and finding effective prevention strategies and treatments. One social determinant of health that plausibly influences the risk of depression is income inequality, the gap between the rich and poor. However, research on this association is still sparse. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the US Census to investigate the multilevel lagged associations of state-level income inequality with the individual-level odds of depression in middle-aged adults, controlling for state- and individual-level factors. We also examined the independent associations of county-level social capital with depression and explored whether it mediated the income inequality relationship. Higher income inequality at the state level predicted higher odds of individual-level depression nearly 2 decades later [OR for middle vs. lowest tertile of income inequality = 1.35 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.76), OR for highest vs. lowest tertile = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.78)]. This association...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research