Abstract
Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage may contribute to adult depression. Understanding pathways by which early socioeconomic adversity may shape adult depression is important for identifying areas for intervention. Studies to date have focused on one potential pathway, adult socioeconomic status (SES), and assessed depression at only one or a few time points. Our aims were to examine (a) the association between childhood SES (low vs. high) and depressive symptom burden in midlife and (b) whether adult socioeconomic, psychosocial, and physical health characteristics are important pathways. Using annual data from a cohort of 1109 black and white US women recruited in 1996–1997, we evaluated the association between childhood SES and depressive symptom burden across 15 years in midlife and whether adult characteristics—financial difficulty, lower education, stressful events, low social support, low role functioning, medical conditions, and bodily pain—mediated the association. Depressive symptom burden was estimated by calculating area under the curve of annual scores across 15 years of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D). In unadjusted models, low childhood SES was associated with greater depressive burden (P = 0.0002). Each hypothesized mediator, individually, did not reduce the association. However, when five of the hypothesized mediators were included together in the same analysis, they explained more than two thirds of the association between childhood SES and depressive symptom burden reducing the P value for childhood SES to non-significance (P = 0.20). These results suggest that childhood SES influences midlife depressive symptom burden through a cluster of economic stress, limited social resources, and physical symptoms in adulthood.
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Acknowledgements
Clinical Centers: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor—Siobán Harlow, PI 2011–present, MaryFran Sowers, PI 1994-2011; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA—Joel Finkelstein, PI 1999–present; Robert Neer, PI 1994–1999; Rush University, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL—Howard Kravitz, PI 2009–present; Lynda Powell, PI 1994–2009; University of California, Davis/Kaiser—Ellen Gold, PI; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY—Carol Derby, PI 2011–present, Rachel Wildman, PI 2010–2011; Nanette Santoro, PI 2004–2010; University of Medicine and Dentistry—New Jersey Medical School, Newark—Gerson Weiss, PI 1994–2004; and the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA—Karen Matthews, PI.
NIH Program Office: National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD—Chhanda Dutta 2016–present, Winifred Rossi 2012–2016; Sherry Sherman 1994–2012; Marcia Ory 1994–2001; National Institute of Nursing Research, Bethesda, MD—Program Officers.
Central Laboratory: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor—Daniel McConnell (Central Ligand Assay Satellite Services).
Coordinating Center: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA—Maria Mori Brooks, PI 2012–present; Kim Sutton-Tyrrell, PI 2001–2012; New England Research Institutes, Watertown, MA—Sonja McKinlay, PI 1995–2001.
Steering Committee: Susan Johnson, Current Chair, Chris Gallagher, Former Chair
We thank the study staff at each site and all the women who participated in SWAN.
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The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) has grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), DHHS, through the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) (Grants NR004061; AG012505, AG012535, AG012531, AG012546, AG012553, AG012554, AG012495). The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIA, NINR, ORWH, or the NIH. The authors have no relationships with industry.
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Bromberger, J.T., Schott, L.L., Matthews, K.A. et al. Childhood socioeconomic circumstances and depressive symptom burden across 15 years of follow-up during midlife: Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Arch Womens Ment Health 20, 495–504 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0747-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0747-4