Gender differences in the association between childhood socioeconomic status and later-life depression among middle-aged and older adults in China: A chain mediation model of education level and present subjective social status

IF 4.9 2区医学 Q1 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Journal of affective disorders Pub Date : 2025-04-22 DOI:10.1016/j.jad.2025.04.103

Jinpeng Xu , Xinyan Jiang , Jiale Sun , Xinhui Zuo , Feier Cheng , Bobkov Artem , Guomei Tian , Zheng Kang , Liuying Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The mechanisms connecting childhood socioeconomic status (SES) to later-life depression remain underexplored. This study aims to examine the mediating roles of education level and subjective social status (SSS) between childhood SES and later-life depression among middle-aged and older adults in China, with a focus on potential gender differences.

Methods

5485 individuals aged 45 years and older from the 2022 China Family Panel Study were selected for analysis. Depression was assessed via the short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Childhood SES was derived through principal component analysis. The bootstrap program was used to test the chained mediation effects.

Results

The average depression score among the participants was 6.00 ± 4.365. Childhood SES, education level, and subjective social status were negatively associated with depression (P < 0.05). The chain mediation effect was significant for all participants, with education level exhibiting a 2.4 times stronger mediating effect in women than in men. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between participants' education level and their present SSS (P < 0.05), which contributed to a positive chain-mediated effect that links childhood SES to depression (Effect = 0.011, 95%CI = 0.006 to 0.016).

Limitations

Retrospective self-reported data and a cross-sectional design.

Conclusions

Poorer childhood SES was associated with an increased risk of later-life depression in middle-aged and older adults, and this relationship can be partially explained by education level and subjective social status. Attention should be given to those with poor childhood SES to improve their subjective perception of social status along with educational attainment.

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中国中老年人童年社会经济地位与晚年抑郁之间的性别差异：教育水平与当前主观社会地位的链式中介模型

童年社会经济地位（SES）与晚年抑郁之间的联系机制仍未得到充分探讨。本研究旨在探讨教育水平和主观社会地位（SSS）在中国中老年人童年社会地位与晚年抑郁之间的中介作用，并关注潜在的性别差异。方法从2022年中国家庭面板研究中选取45岁及以上的个体s5485例进行分析。通过流行病学研究中心抑郁量表的简短形式来评估抑郁症。通过主成分分析得出儿童SES。采用bootstrap程序对链式中介效果进行检验。结果参与者的平均抑郁得分为6.00±4.365分。儿童期经济社会地位、受教育程度和主观社会地位与抑郁症呈负相关(P <；0.05)。所有参与者的连锁中介效应均显著，女性受教育程度的中介效应比男性强2.4倍。此外，被试的受教育程度与他们目前的SSS呈负相关(P <；0.05)，这有助于将童年SES与抑郁症联系起来的正链介导效应（效应= 0.011,95%CI = 0.006至0.016）。局限性：回顾性自我报告数据和横断面设计。结论童年SES水平越高与中老年人群晚年抑郁风险增加相关，教育程度和主观社会地位可以部分解释这一关系。应注意那些儿童期社会经济地位较差的人，以提高他们对社会地位的主观认知和教育程度。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of affective disorders 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

10.90

自引率

6.10%

发文量

1319

审稿时长

9.3 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Affective Disorders publishes papers concerned with affective disorders in the widest sense: depression, mania, mood spectrum, emotions and personality, anxiety and stress. It is interdisciplinary and aims to bring together different approaches for a diverse readership. Top quality papers will be accepted dealing with any aspect of affective disorders, including neuroimaging, cognitive neurosciences, genetics, molecular biology, experimental and clinical neurosciences, pharmacology, neuroimmunoendocrinology, intervention and treatment trials.