Inequalities in elevated depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults by rural childhood residence: The important role of education.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To quantify inequalities in the prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms by rural childhood residence and the extent to which childhood socioeconomic conditions and educational attainment contribute to this disparity.

Methods

We identified the prevalence of depressive symptoms among US-born adults ages 50 years and older in the 1998 to 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (n = 16 022). We compared prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms (>4/8 symptoms) by rural versus nonrural childhood residence (self-report) and the extent to which own education mediated this disparity. We used generalized estimating equations and marginal standardization to calculate predicted probabilities of elevated depressive symptoms.

Results

In age, race/ethnicity, an

SUBMITTER: Murchland AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7060021 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature