Abstract
Objectives
Financial stress has adverse consequences for health. However, the association between individual and cumulative associations of multiple financial stressors and serious psychological distress (SPD) is unclear.
Methods
Using data from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey, we examined cross-sectional associations between perceived financial worries, healthcare insecurity, food insecurity, and SPD among 23,317 US adults. Associations were examined using logistic regression.
Results
Among US adults in 2017, the overall prevalence of SPD was 3.6%. Among those with SPD, 85.5% were financially worried, 50.3% were food insecure, and 51.2% were healthcare insecure. Financial worries (OR 4.27; CI 3.31, 5.52), food insecurity (OR 2.34; CI 1.92, 2.85), and healthcare insecurity (OR 2.26; CI 1.85, 2.76) were each associated with higher odds of SPD. A dose–response association was found between the number of stressors and SPD.
Conclusions
Each financial stressor was adversely associated with SPD both individually and cumulatively, indicating the adverse effects of the accumulation of these stressors. Additional studies are needed to understand the longitudinal effects of multiple financial stressors on mental health outcomes.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Departmental Faculty Allies Mentored Writing Award at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, the Rackham Graduate School, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development under Award Numbers T32HD095134-01A1 and P2CHD041023. The authors would like to thank Kirsten Herold from the University of Michigan for her feedback and support for the manuscript.
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We used a public-use data file of the National Health Interview Survey uploaded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year. This dataset includes de-identified data; thus, we did not obtain informed consent from the study participants.
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Tsuchiya, K., Leung, C.W., Jones, A.D. et al. Multiple financial stressors and serious psychological distress among adults in the USA. Int J Public Health 65, 335–344 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01354-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01354-x