Article
Gerontology
Adam R. Roth, Siyun Peng
Summary: This study investigated the impact of non-spousal support on mortality risk among older adults, and found that never married individuals rely more on support from non-spousal sources. The disparity in mortality risk between never married and married individuals disappeared when non-spousal support was high. These findings suggest the importance of integrating never married older adults into a supportive social environment.
JOURNAL OF AGING AND HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jaimie Arona Krems, Laureon A. Merrie, Victoria Short, Krystal Duarte, Nina N. Rodriguez, Juliana E. French, Daniel Sznycer, Jennifer Byrd-Craven
Summary: Status is a universal feature of human sociality. This study investigates the cues that render people high status in the eyes of social perceivers. Results suggest that people use men's strength and women's attractiveness as status cues.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Jenna Najar, Jeremiah A. Aakre, Maria Vassilaki, Hanna Wetterberg, Lina Ryden, Anna Zettergren, Ingmar Skoog, Clifford R. Jack, David S. Knopman, Ronald C. Petersen, Silke Kern, Michelle M. Mielke
Summary: This study found that sex modifies the association between marital status and incident dementia, with unmarried men having a higher risk of dementia compared to married men, while no significant association was observed in women.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Adrian Bacong, Heeju Sohn
Summary: This study used the restricted California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) to assess differences in self-rated health, obesity, and severe psychological distress among different immigrant groups living in California, including US-born citizens, naturalised citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPR), undocumented immigrants, and temporary visa holders. The results showed that while immigrant groups appeared to have poorer health on the surface, these differences were mainly explained by factors such as older age among naturalised citizens and lower income and education among LPRs and undocumented immigrants. Protective family characteristics were found to be beneficial for immigrants' health, especially among disadvantaged immigrants.
JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Zi-Hang Chen, Kai-Bin Yang, Yuan-zhe Zhang, Chen-Fei Wu, Dan-Wan Wen, Jia-Wei Lv, Guang-Li Zhu, Xiao-Jing Du, Lei Chen, Guan-Qun Zhou, Qing Liu, Ying Sun, Jun Ma, Cheng Xu, Li Lin
Summary: This study shows that married cancer patients have better cancer-specific survival compared to unmarried patients, largely due to differences in early diagnosis and treatment. Marriage seems to have a greater protective effect on cancer-specific survival in men than in women, with certain cancers showing disparities in survival due to marriage status and related treatment variables.
Review
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Paniz Haghighi, Mark Oremus
Summary: Functional social support (FSS) has been positively associated with better cognitive function, particularly memory. This systematic review examined the impact of marital status or related variables on the association between FSS and memory in middle-aged and older adults. The findings suggest that FSS from a spouse or partner has a small positive association with memory, similar to other sources of support like children, relatives, and friends.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Erik Oftedahl Naess, Lars Mehlum, Ping Qin
Summary: Research based on Norwegian national registers found that individuals who have never been married, separated, divorced, or widowed are more likely to have a higher risk of suicide compared to married individuals, with the highest risk observed during marital separations. The increased suicide risk varies in strength according to individual-level factors, highlighting the importance of understanding the impact of marital status and socioeconomic factors on suicide risk.
SSM-POPULATION HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Lilach Lurie, Haya Stier
Summary: This study examines gender inequalities in household income among older Israeli widowed, divorced, and never-married individuals. The results show that unmarried individuals have lower household income compared to married individuals, especially unmarried women who are at a greater disadvantage. Over time, gender inequality has increased among the divorced but decreased among the widowed.
SOCIAL INDICATORS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Social
Elena R. Agadullina, Maria A. Terskova, Daria A. Erokhina, Vladislav V. Ankushev
Summary: The aim of this study is to examine how different factors, such as multiple stigmatization, perceived social status, and workers' sex, and their interactions are associated with the dehumanization of workers. The study found that multiple stigmatization increases animalistic dehumanization but not mechanistic dehumanization. Low-status workers are more prone to animalistic dehumanization compared to high-status workers. High status reduces metaphor-based animalistic dehumanization of occupations with multiple stigmatization, and attribute-based animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization of workers regardless of their stigmatization. Male workers are more likely to be mechanistically dehumanized than female workers, but there are no differences in animalistic dehumanization.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Christine Friedrich, Mohamed Salem, Thomas Puehler, Bernd Panholzer, Lea Herbers, Julia Reimers, Lars Hummitzsch, Jochen Cremer, Assad Haneya
Summary: This study investigated the impact of sex on outcomes after surgery for infective endocarditis (IE). The results showed that women were more likely to have mitral valve infection, while men were more likely to have previous endocarditis, coronary heart disease, and aortic valve infection. Blood transfusion occurred more frequently intraoperatively in women, while men had a longer postoperative stay. Women had a higher 30-day mortality, but there was no sex-specific difference in late survival.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Alyssa R. Roeckner, Shivangi Soga, Vasiliki Michopoulos, Rebecca Hinrichs, Sanne J. H. van Rooij, Barbara O. Rothbaum, Tanja JovanovicV, Kerry J. Ressler, Jennifer S. Stevens
Summary: This study found that gender differences play an important role in predicting future severity and symptoms of PTSD based on brain volume, with the rostral ACC (rACC) being a vital region in relation to PTSD. Future longitudinal PTSD MRI studies should consider gender differences for a more accurate identification of future PTSD risk following trauma.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Yuan Lu, Shu-Xia Li, Yuntian Liu, Fatima Rodriguez, Karol E. Watson, Rachel P. Dreyer, Rohan Khera, Karthik Murugiah, Gail D'Onofrio, Erica S. Spatz, Khurram Nasir, Frederick A. Masoudi, Harlan M. Krumholz
Summary: This study found that seven risk factors, including diabetes, depression, hypertension, current smoking, family history of premature myocardial infarction, low household income, and hypercholesterolemia, collectively accounted for the majority of the total risk of first AMI in young women (83.9%) and men (85.1%).
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Brian Collisson, Lynn E. McCutcheon, Jeanne Edman, Marla Johnston
Summary: The Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) was administered to 215 participants from the United States through Mechanical Turk, along with questions relating to gender, age, and marital status. Results indicate that attraction to one's favorite celebrity declined slightly with age, and participants who chose a favorite celebrity of the opposite gender did not obtain higher scores on the CAS and its three subscales, as compared to participants who chose a favorite celebrity of the same gender. Females were significantly more likely than males to choose an opposite gender favorite celebrity, and racial centrality (but not gender centrality) was positively related to CAS scores. Implications of the findings were discussed and suggestions for further research were offered.
CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Roy Azoulay, Eva Gilboa-Schechtman
Summary: Women report higher levels of post-traumatic distress (PTD) than men after experiencing physically threatening events. However, there has been limited research on gender differences in PTD following social stressors, such as status losses. Two studies were conducted to examine this issue. The results support the evolutionary account, showing that men experience enhanced PTD after a status loss compared to women. In addition, status losses caused by men against other men were associated with greater PTD. Age was found to be negatively related to PTD in men, but not in women. This study challenges the conventional view that associates female gender with heightened sensitivity to trauma, suggesting that gender and development-specific challenges affect the pattern of enhanced sensitivity to stressful events.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Xiao Yu, Shu Liu
Summary: This study found that the work hours of Chinese women, rather than their occupational status, have an impact on marital satisfaction. Regardless of the gender role attitudes held by the couple, marital satisfaction increases when women are in the labor market.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
J. Mark Noordzij, Marielle A. Beenackers, Joost Oude Groeniger, Erik Timmermans, Basile Chaix, Dany Doiron, Martijn Huisman, Irina Motoc, Milagros Ruiz, Rita Wissa, Mauricio Avendano, Frank J. van Lenthe
Summary: Studies on the relationship between urban green space and mental health in Europe have produced mixed results. This study, including data from four European aging cohorts, found no significant association between green space exposure and subjective health or depressed affect in middle-aged and older adults.
JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Yixiao Wang, Wei Yang, Mauricio Avendano
Summary: The study found a significant positive association between household income and the intensity of informal care received by older people. As the number of functional limitations increases, the level of inequality also increases. Therefore, policies are needed to support low-income older people with more functional limitations.
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Annie Zimmerman, Emily Garman, Mauricio Avendano-Pabon, Ricardo Araya, Sara Evans-Lacko, David McDaid, A-La Park, Philipp Hessel, Yadira Diaz, Alicia Matijasevich, Carola Ziebold, Annette Bauer, Cristiane Silvestre Paula, Crick Lund
Summary: The research suggests that cash transfers may have positive effects on the mental health outcomes of children and young people in low-income and middle-income countries. However, there is high heterogeneity in the results, with some interventions showing no effects. Further research is needed to understand the varying impacts of cash transfers on mental health outcomes.
Article
Psychiatry
Annette Bauer, Ricardo Araya Baltra, Mauricio Avendano Pabon, Yadira Diaz, Emily Garman, Philipp Hessel, Crick Lund, Paulo Malvasi, Alicia Matijasevich, David McDaid, A-La Park, Cristiane Silvestre Paula, Annie Zimmerman, Sara Evans-Lacko
Summary: The study CHANCES-6 aims to investigate the impact and mechanisms of poverty-reduction interventions, such as cash transfer programmes, on the mental health and overall life chances of young people in low- and middle-income countries. The research will include quantitative, qualitative, and economic analyses to generate knowledge on the potential role of cash transfer programmes in breaking the cycle between poor mental health and poverty for young people, in order to improve their life chances.
SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
E. C. Garman, K. Eyal, M. Avendano, S. Evans-Lacko, C. Lund
Summary: This study examines the longitudinal impact of the South African Child Support Grant (CSG) on risk for depression and life satisfaction among young people (15-19 years). The results showed that receiving the CSG did not improve the psychological well-being, education, or employment outcomes of adolescents and young adults. Alternative social policies addressing the root causes of youth social disadvantage, along with targeted approaches to improve mental health, are needed.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Carolina Ziebold, Cristiane Silvestre Paula, Ina S. Santos, Fernando C. Barros, Tiago N. Munhoz, Crick Lund, David McDaid, Ricardo Araya, Annette Bauer, Emily Garman, A-La Park, Annie Zimmerman, Philipp Hessel, Mauricio Avendano, Sara Evans-Lacko, Alicia Matijasevich
Summary: This study examined the impact of Brazil's BFP program on children's mental health, finding no significant association between participation in the program and mental health problems in early adolescence. The results suggest that CCTs alone may not be sufficient to improve mental health outcomes, highlighting the potential benefit of incorporating mental health interventions alongside cash transfer programs.
JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Annie Zimmerman, Crick Lund, Ricardo Araya, Philipp Hessel, Juliana Sanchez, Emily Garman, Sara Evans-Lacko, Yadira Diaz, Mauricio Avendano-Pabon
Summary: The study found that multidimensional poverty was positively associated with depressive symptoms in young people in Colombia and Mexico, but not in South Africa. Individual deprivations such as school lag and lack of access to health services were associated with depressive symptoms in the harmonised dataset, while household deprivations were not. The importance of specific dimensions of poverty for mental health varies across countries, emphasizing the need for a multidimensional approach to understand the relationship between youth depression and poverty.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Mia Hadfield-Spoor, Mauricio Avendano, Rachel Loopstra
Summary: The study found that both the number and type of disabilities are associated with an increased risk of food insecurity. The risk of food insecurity varies depending on the type of disability, and individuals with a combination of physical and mental/cognitive disabilities face a higher risk of severe food insecurity.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Editorial Material
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Lisa F. Berkman, Mauricio Avendano, Emilie Courtin
Summary: This commentary discusses the addition of randomized experiments and natural experiments in the social epidemiologist's toolbox. These approaches transform the way social exposures are defined and questioned, and have significant public health and policy implications. The authors focus on randomized controlled trials and natural experiments and highlight their potential to advance our understanding of how social exposures impact health and address health inequalities.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Yixiao Wang, Wei Yang, Mauricio Avendano
Summary: Studies in Western countries suggest that receiving informal care from family members may reduce health care utilization. This hypothesis has not been examined in China. This study assesses the impact of informal care from offspring on health care utilization and expenditures among older people in China. The results show that more hours of informal care from offspring reduce overall health care utilization, particularly outpatient care, but increase inpatient care utilization and expenditures.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Yadira Diaz, Philipp Hessel, Mauricio Avendano, Sara Evans-Lacko
Summary: Research shows that multidimensional poverty is associated with adolescent mental health problems, with adolescents in multidimensionally poor households having a higher risk of mental health issues. Individual deprivations related to education, work, health insurance, and employment are more strongly linked to adolescent mental health problems than material deprivations.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
E. C. Garman, M. Avendano, R. Araya, S. Evans-Lacko, D. McDaid, A. Zimmerman, C. Lund
Summary: This study examines the association between multidimensional poverty and depression among South African youth, finding that access to employment or training is strongly linked with depression, while only a few dimensions are associated with depression.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
N. Jensen, A. H. Kelly, M. Avendano
Summary: This paper discusses the role of health equity in the global health enterprise and suggests that broadening the application of equity concepts in health system strengthening may present exciting opportunities to put health systems at the center of a more ambitious equity agenda.
GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Liming Li, Ludovico Carrino, Erica Reinhard, Erik Timmermans, Martijn Huisman, Jip Claassens, Jeroen Lakerveld, Mauricio Avendano
Summary: The study found that the New Deal aircraft noise control policy introduced in Amsterdam did not have a significant impact on depressive symptoms in older people, and there were few changes in noise levels after the policy implementation.
JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Psychiatry
Annette Bauer, Emily Garman, David McDaid, Mauricio Avendano, Philipp Hessel, Yadira Diaz, Ricardo Araya, Crick Lund, Paulo Malvasi, Alicia Matijasevich, A-La Park, Cristiane Silvestre Paula, Carolina Ziebold, Annie Zimmerman, Sara Evans-Lacko
Summary: Social protection measures, particularly cash transfer programs, play a crucial role in supporting young people's mental health and livelihood security during the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis presents an opportunity for these programs to focus on vulnerable young individuals, especially those with mental health issues and living in poverty.
