Abstract
Background
Current literature on the association between mobility in socioeconomic position (SEP)
and depression demonstrates mixed findings, with variation in the benefits of upward
SEP by racial group and ethnic background. No study has examined life-course SEP mobility
and depressive symptoms among Black women in the United States.
Methods
Our cohort included 1,612 Black women enrolled in the Study of Environment, Lifestyle
and Fibroids between 2010 and 2012 and followed for 5 years. We used data on socioeconomic
indicators at childhood and adulthood and used latent class analysis to create a life-course
SEP mobility measure (persistently low, downward, upward, and persistently high).
Using the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), we assessed
high (≥9) versus low depressive symptoms. Multivariable log risk models were used
to produce risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results
Of the participants, 37% had high depressive symptoms. Persistently low (RR, 1.56;
95% CI, 1.31–1.86) and downward (RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.14–1.63) SEP mobility was associated
with high depressive symptoms after adjustment for age, adult social support, and
marital status. There was evidence of an effect measure modification by adult social
support, with a stronger association among those who reported high adult social support
compared with low adult social support.
Conclusions
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.
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Biography
Opal P. Patel, is a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina in the Gillings School of Global Public Health with research interests in the area of environmental epidemiology.
Biography
Dr. Arbor Quist, is an environmental epidemiologist interested in community-driven research that addresses climate and environmental injustice. Arbor recently completed her PhD in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is now a Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Justice & Community-Driven Epidemiology at the University of Southern California.
Biography
Dr. Chantel L. Martin, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research seeks to uncover social and biological mechanisms of health disparities across the life course.
Biography
Dr. Ganesa Wegienka is a Senior Scientist and Epidemiologist in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI. Dr. Wegienka's research interests include causes of pediatric allergic diseases such as allergy and asthma, as well as the racial disparities observed in their occurrence. She also has extensive research in women's health.
Biography
Dr. Donna D. Baird, is an Intramural Scientist, Epidemiologist, and head of the Women's Health Group in the Epidemiology Branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She has extensive experience in studies of reproductive hormones, fertility and early pregnancy, and the natural history of uterine fibroids; methodological expert in longitudinal data analysis, analysis of bias in reproductive outcomes, and research design in reproductive epidemiology.
Biography
Dr. Lauren Wise, is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. Her research involves the study of benign gynecologic conditions, delayed conception, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Biography
Dr. Anissa I. Vines, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research involves the study of the psychosocial determinants of health and their influence on outcomes such as uterine fibroids, cancer disparities, and cardiometabolic conditions. Dr. Vines is particularly interested in stressors across the life course, including racism.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 30, 2022
Accepted:
November 28,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 4,
2022
Received:
April 7,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
Funding Statement: Funded primarily by an administrative supplement to the parent grant, “Environmental risk factors for uterine fibroids: a prospective ultrasound study (Project# R01ES028235-03S1),” from the extramural program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and in part by the Uterine Leiomyomas research program (Project# ZIAES049013) in the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The research was also supported by a research grant, “Early reproductive aging: stress and uterine fibroid risk among black women (Project# R21HD105461),” from the extramural program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. Funding also came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds designated for National Institute of Health.
Anissa I. Vines is a senior author.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health, George Washington University. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
