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Lower Socioeconomic Position Linked With Increased Depression
A lower socioeconomic position (SEP) was associated with higher levels of depression among Black women, according to study results recently published in Women’s Health Issues.
“These findings suggest directing mental health resources to people experiencing low SEP at any stage in life, especially those with low SEP in adulthood, to aid in the management of depressive symptoms,” study lead author Opal P. Patel, doctoral student, department of epidemiology, University of North Carolina, and co-authors noted. “There is value in examining childhood SEP in addition to adult SEP as it may identify those who may face the greatest risk of depressive symptoms in adulthood.”
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Participants included 1612 Black women aged 23 to 24 years enrolled in the Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and Fibroids (SELF) between 2010 and 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. Participants were evaluated for depression symptoms and socioeconomic indicators and followed for 5 years. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure depressive symptoms. Risk ratios (RR) were created using multivariable log risk models. Researchers used data on socioeconomic indicators at various life points and latent class analysis to create a life-course SEP mobility measure at 4 levels— persistently low, downward, upward, and persistently high.
At follow-up, the women, with a mean age of 31±3.5 years, had the following:
• 81% had a supportive childhood environment;
• 58% had a supportive adulthood environment;
• 56% had a household income of at least $20,000;
• 25% reported no difficulty paying expenses; and
• 45% were never married or lived as married.
Persistently low (RR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.31–1.86) and downward (RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.14–1.63) SEP mobility were associated with high depressive symptoms. High depressive symptoms were found in 37% of the participants. Life courses were negatively associated with CES-D scores, with an average of 9.2 points for those with persistently low SEP, 7.9 points for downward SEP, 7.1 points for upward SEP, and 6.2 points for persistently high SEP.
However, study results are limited since latent class SEP is hard to classify distinctly. Estimates may be misinterpreted or miscalculated, authors noted.
