Social Science & Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Association between education and allostatic load with risk of cancer mortality among Hispanic women.","authors":"Melissa Lopez-Pentecost, Cynthia Li, Marlo Vernon, Sydney Paige Howard, Jessica Amezcua, Justin Xavier Moore","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117515","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Cancer remains the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the US. While social determinants of health, such as educational attainment, have been linked to negative health outcomes, their biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We evaluated the association between educational attainment and allostatic load (AL), a measure of chronic physiologic stress, with risk of cancer mortality in Hispanic women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We performed a retrospective analysis among 5637 Hispanic women in NHANES from 1988 to 2010 with follow-up data through 2019. Educational attainment was categorized into a two-level variable: less than high school education vs high school graduate and above. AL score was calculated as the sum of nine abnormal biomarkers and health measures. Participants were considered to have high AL if their score was three or more. Weighted Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to estimate adjusted hazard ratios of cancer death between educational attainment and AL (adjusted for age, family poverty to income ratio, country of birth, marital status, preferred language, health insurance, current smoker status, congestive heart failure and history of heart attack).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Hispanic women who did not attain high school education and living with high AL had more than a 3-fold increased risk of cancer death when compared to Hispanic women with at least high school education with low AL (unadjusted HR: 3.18, CI: 1.64-6.17). Hispanic women who did not complete high school and had high AL had a nearly two-fold increased risk of cancer mortality (unadjusted HR: 1.96, CI: 1.10-3.49) compared to their low AL counterparts. These effects attenuated after adjustments for age.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Hispanic women with higher AL face elevated cancer mortality risk, with a greater effect observed among women with lower educational levels. Future research among a larger Hispanic sample should explore additional factors such as length of US residence, citizenship status, and country of birth, to better understand their influence on educational attainment, AL, and cancer mortality.</p>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"365 ","pages":"117515"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142792491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rumination, loneliness, and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents with major depressive disorder: The moderating role of resilience","authors":"Hong Wang ,&nbsp;Sili Wen ,&nbsp;Yang Wang ,&nbsp;Yongjie Zhou ,&nbsp;Ben Niu","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117512","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117512","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Adolescents often experience negative emotions, such as depression and anxiety, due to rapid biological, cognitive, and social changes during this developmental stage. In recent years, the non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has garnered increasing attention, with rumination identified as a significant risk factor for its occurrence. This study established a moderated mediation model to examine the impact of rumination on NSSI among adolescents with MDD and its underlying mechanisms. The final research sample consisted of 1,601 adolescents with MDD (18.2% males, mean age = 14.85 years, SD = 1.65) from 14 psychiatric/general hospitals across nine provinces in China. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing NSSI, rumination, loneliness, and resilience. Results indicated that rumination contribute to NSSI via loneliness during adolescence, whereas resilience may buffer the adverse effects of rumination on NSSI, implying the potential effectiveness of reducing loneliness and promoting resilience in the intervention and prevention of NSSI. These findings further illuminate the mechanisms underlying the development of NSSI, aiding in its prediction and prevention among adolescents, thereby assisting them in better coping with emotional and behavioral developmental challenges during adolescence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"364 ","pages":"Article 117512"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Framing of sensitive topics in surveys measuring corruption in healthcare","authors":"Iva Parvanova ,&nbsp;Mylene Lagarde","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Corruption is a costly, consequential and complex phenomenon facing healthcare systems globally. Measuring the prevalence of petty corruption, such as bribery and informal payments, is challenging due to the hidden and sensitive nature of these exchanges. This paper explores how question framing influences estimates of informal payment prevalence in doctor-patient relationships in two steps. We analyze the responses from the Eurobarometer survey and then conduct a novel survey experiment in Bulgaria and the UK, comparing the effect of ‘<em>neutral’</em> (avoiding corruption-related terms) versus ‘<em>loaded’</em> (using corruption-related terms) question wording on individuals' reports of experiences with informal payments. Data from the Special Eurobarometer 397 survey (N = 16,051) fielded in 2013 reveals a notable framing effect: respondents report higher prevalence of informal payments when questions are neutrally framed, as opposed to using corruption-related language. This result is confirmed by a survey experiment we ran between November 2023 and February 2024 in with participants in Bulgaria (N = 428) and the UK (N = 424). Respondents exposed to neutral framing were significantly more likely to admit making informal payments compared to those in the loaded treatment group. The difference in response rates between countries suggests that cultural and normative specificities play a role in willingness to report healthcare corruption. Our results underscore the trade-off between using culturally contextualized terminology to elicit responses on sensitive topics and adopting a universal approach that facilitates cross-country comparisons. We further discuss the behavioral and normative implications of using neutral versus corruption-related language when investigating informal practices in healthcare settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"364 ","pages":"Article 117521"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142698676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An analysis of intersectional disparities in alcohol consumption in the US","authors":"Sophie Bright ,&nbsp;Charlotte Buckley ,&nbsp;Daniel Holman ,&nbsp;George Leckie ,&nbsp;Andrew Bell ,&nbsp;Nina Mulia ,&nbsp;Carolin Kilian ,&nbsp;Robin Purshouse","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117514","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117514","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alcohol is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States (US). Prior research has demonstrated that alcohol consumption and related mortality are socially patterned; however, no study has investigated intersectional disparities in alcohol consumption, i.e., attending to how social positions overlap and interact. In this study, we used an innovative intersectional approach (Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy, MAIHDA) and data from a large nationally representative survey (the National Health Interview Survey, 2000–2018) to quantify inter-categorical disparities in alcohol consumption in the US (proportion of current drinkers, and average consumption amongst drinkers), along dimensions of sex, race and ethnicity, age, and level of education. Our analysis revealed significant intersectional disparities in both the prevalence of drinking and the average consumption by drinkers. Young, highly educated White men were the most likely to be current drinkers and consumed the highest amounts of alcohol on average, whilst racially and ethnically minoritized women with lower education were the least likely to drink and had the lowest levels of alcohol consumption, across all age categories. Notably, we found significant interaction effects for many intersectional strata, with much higher consumption estimated for some groups than traditional additive approaches would suggest. By identifying specific understudied groups with high consumption, such as young American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) men, adult Black men with low education, and older White women with high education, this analysis has important implications for future research, policy, and praxis. This is the first known application of MAIHDA to account for a skewed outcome, highlighting and addressing critical methodological considerations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"363 ","pages":"Article 117514"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142683038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Women's informal group participation and intimate partner violence in Mwanza, Tanzania: A longitudinal study","authors":"Shruti Shukla ,&nbsp;Neema R. Mosha ,&nbsp;Sarah R. Meyer ,&nbsp;Sheila Harvey ,&nbsp;Shelley Lees ,&nbsp;Gerry Mshana ,&nbsp;Heidi Stöckl","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117513","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117513","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Women's groups have emerged as an essential platform for implementing violence prevention interventions across diverse settings because they can serve as a powerful catalyst for promoting gender equality, empowering women, and providing a safe space for them. Given the limited empirical evidence on the impact of women's informal group participation on male-perpetrated intimate partner violence, this longitudinal study examines how such participation influences women's experiences of physical, emotional, sexual, and economic IPV in Mwanza, Tanzania.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Data from four waves of the MAISHA study, which followed up the control groups (n = 1122) of the two MAISHA trials, were analysed. Women aged 18–70 who had been in a relationship within the last 12 months were included. Using mixed effects logistic regression models, we examined the association between women's active participation in religious, ethnic, microcredit, street and support groups and community meetings, with four types of IPV, adjusting for cohabitation status, age and enrolment in previous MAISHA trials. Participants' unique identification number was used as a random effect variable, and dummies for each survey round were used to account for time.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The prevalence of religious, ethnic, microcredit, support and street groups, and community meeting participation at baseline were 41.8%, 17.5%, 41.1%, 20.1%, 42.9%, and 20.1%, respectively. Adjusted multivariable models showed that participants who engaged in community meetings reported lower odds of experiencing economic IPV (AOR = 0.68, CI: 0.56–0.82) and higher odds of experiencing emotional IPV (AOR = 1.21, CI: 1.00–1.46). Further, active participants of support groups reported lower odds of experiencing both economic (AOR = 0.77, CI: 0.60–0.99) and sexual IPV (AOR = 0.72, CI: 0.58–0.90). Participants in ethnic groups also reported lower odds of economic IPV (AOR = 0.79, CI: 0.62–1.00). No predictor was associated with physical IPV.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study underscores the potential of informal community group participation to mitigate sexual and economic IPV among women in Mwanza, Tanzania, while also indicating a possible increase in the risk of emotional IPV. It emphasises the necessity for tailored, context-sensitive, and gender-transformative interventions to address power imbalances and restrictive norms effectively. Future research should delve into nuanced measures of group participation, including attendance, meeting frequency and duration, participants' influence within groups, the strength of social ties, and their implications for IPV experiences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"364 ","pages":"Article 117513"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142695842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding the health system drivers of delayed cancer diagnosis in public healthcare networks of Chile, Colombia and Ecuador: A qualitative study with health professionals, managers and policymakers.","authors":"Ingrid Vargas, Amparo-Susana Mogollón-Pérez, Pamela Eguiguren, Ana-Lucía Torres, Andrés Peralta, Maria Rubio-Valera, Signe Smith Jervelund, Josep M Borras, Sónia Dias, María-Luisa Vázquez","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117499","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117499","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although the greatest delays in cancer diagnosis in Latin America occur in the provider interval little is known about the related factors. This study aims to analyze factors influencing access to cancer diagnosis -from initial contact with health services to confirmation- from institutional stakeholders' perspective in public healthcare networks of Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. A qualitative, descriptive-interpretative study was conducted in two networks per country, using semi-structured individual interviews (n = 118; 23 to 58, per country) with a criterion sample of health professionals and administrative personnel from primary care (PC) (n = 41) and secondary/tertiary care hospitals (n = 47), network managers and policymakers (n = 30). The final sample size was reached through saturation. Thematic content analysis was performed, segmented by country. The analysis reveals interacting factors that cause cumulative delays throughout the patient's diagnostic pathway within healthcare networks, with differences between countries. In all three, informants identify similar characteristics of the networks: structural (deficits in diagnostic resources; geographical accessibility), organizational factors (long waiting times, especially after referral), and the limited knowledge and experience of PC doctors, which all lead to delayed diagnosis. In Chile and Colombia, health policy barriers related to care rationing/prioritization policies that hampered access to tests, and in Chile, increased delays for non-prioritized conditions. Country-specific barriers related to the organization of healthcare system also emerge: in Chile, private services subcontracting and the voucher system for using them; in Colombia, the management of care by insurers (care authorizations; fragmented and short-term contracting of providers); and in Ecuador, underfunding of the system. The barriers most affect the elderly, those with low socioeconomic status, with limited support networks, and rural areas residents. The results reveal relevant barriers in access to timely cancer diagnosis which can and should be addressed with specific cancer diagnosis policies and general measures that strengthen public healthcare systems and networks.</p>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"365 ","pages":"117499"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142774043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychosocial challenges of Ukrainian healthcare professionals in wartime: Addressing the need for management support","authors":"Anastasiia Yuriivna Sydorenko ,&nbsp;Lennart Kiel ,&nbsp;Helle Spindler","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117504","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117504","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The Russian-Ukrainian war has placed healthcare professionals (HPs) in Ukraine in a position of heightened responsibility and vulnerability. This study aimed to evaluate HPs' perceptions of the war's impact on their work, their expectations regarding management recognition of their situation, and to assess levels of psychological safety and incidents of bullying within their teams.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Two open-ended questions were used to explore HP's perceptions of the war's impact on their work and their expectations from management. Psychological safety and bullying were assessed using the Safety Attitude Questionnaire-Short Form (SAQ-SF) and Negative Act Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>1,442 HPs participated in the study. A total of 70% reported a negative impact of the war on their work. The most expressed needs were for increased financial, moral, and emotional support from medical managers. While the majority of HPs did not report experiences of bullying, 13.1% reported frequent occurrences. Based on the SAQ-SF, job satisfaction was generally high, whereas stress recognition was low.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Despite the harrowing conditions of the war in Ukraine, HPs show extraordinary commitment to their profession and experience high levels of job satisfaction. However, there is an unmet need for increased moral and emotional support from medical leaders and financial assistance to counter the increase in cost of living, as these are the most pressing issues for HPs. Overall, these results suggest that the role of the management in addressing these challenges to improve psychological safety may be essential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"364 ","pages":"Article 117504"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142744197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"State-level anti-Asian hate crimes and mental health among Asian and other racial groups in the US","authors":"Kokoro Harii ,&nbsp;Kosuke Inoue ,&nbsp;Adrian M. Bacong ,&nbsp;Naoki Kondo","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117494","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117494","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although racism and anti-Asian sentiments have been long-standing public health issues in the United States, evidence is lacking regarding anti-Asian hate crimes and their spillover effect on not only Asian populations but also other racial and ethnic populations. We aimed to investigate the association between state-level anti-Asian hate crimes and the individual mental health of Asians and how it varies by other race and ethnicity groups. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 1,921,984 participants from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports between 2015 and 2021. We performed multivariable logistic regressions to obtain adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for depression and poor mental health by state-level anti-Asian hate crimes rate per 10,000 population across different racial groups. Of the 1,921,984 participants (Asian 49,481 [2.6%], Hispanic 167,655 [8.7%], non-Hispanic Black 152,898 [8.0%], non-Hispanic White 1,496,965 [78%], and Others 81,985 [4.3%]), 364,636 (19%) reported a history of depression, and 640,675 (34%) reported at least one day of poor mental health in the past 30 days. State-level anti-Asian hate crime rates were associated with depression among Asian people (aOR [95%CI] = 1.41 [1.17–1.69]). The association was also observed among Hispanic (aOR [95%CI] = 1.73 [1.48–2.04]) and non-Hispanic White people (aOR [95%CI] = 1.12 [1.05–1.19]) but not among non-Hispanic Black people (aOR [95%CI] = 1.10 [0.85–1.43]). We observed the association with poor mental health only among Hispanics (adjusted OR [95%CI] = 1.28 [1.12 to 1.45]) accounting for individual-level and state-level covariates. Using a nationwide cohort of US adults, we found an association between state-level rates of hate crimes targeting Asian people and depression among Asian and non-Asian US adults. These findings suggest that such hate crimes may have an adverse impact on mental health, extending their reach beyond the direct victims.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"364 ","pages":"Article 117494"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142699597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tooth shame - An ethnographic study of the choreographies of tooth shame in Danish elderly care.","authors":"Louise Folker, Astrid Pernille Jespersen, Esben Boeskov Øzhayat","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117500","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117500","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study suggests the term tooth shame and explores it as a phenomenon encompassing deep entanglements between emotional experiences, social interactions, and care work practices. Drawing on shame research concerning the body, health, and class, juxtaposed with odontological research on the social implications of oral health issues, it investigates how tooth shame appears in Danish elderly care. In Denmark, oral health is notably impaired among older people depending on professional care, with significant repercussions for general health and social life. The study stems from the Lifelong Oral Health project, which identifies barriers to oral health and examines the potential to improve it in Danish elderly care. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork in nursing homes, home care units, and a rehabilitation center in two Danish municipalities. As self-derogative statements and self-limiting behaviors regarding oral health issues stood out as a general finding in interviews with older people, the focus on tooth shame emerged from this fieldwork. The study contributes to recent shame discussions with a social-material understanding of tooth shame, emphasizing that it is more than an individual feature. It is a collectively distributed phenomenon that expands among people and situations, and that interferes with vital caring practices. The study suggests that tooth shame appears through the performance of tooth shame choreographies, highlighting its implications in a socio-material setting. First, it demonstrates that tooth shame can make older people adapt to oral health issues, for example, by avoiding social interactions, dental care, and oral treatments. Second, it identifies tooth shame as a collectively distributed and expanding phenomenon, as it draws, for example, care workers into sensitive shame situations. Third, it explores how tooth shame interferes with daily dental care practices, professional considerations, and ethical dilemmas within elderly care systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"365 ","pages":"117500"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142792561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does volunteering reduce epigenetic age acceleration among retired and working older adults? Results from the Health and Retirement Study","authors":"Seoyoun Kim ,&nbsp;Cal Halvorsen ,&nbsp;Claire Potter ,&nbsp;Jessica Faul","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117501","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117501","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>The current study aims to explore the relationship between the frequency of volunteering and biological aging, as measured by epigenetic age acceleration. It also investigates whether this relationship differs between retired and working older adults. Understanding this connection could inform interventions promoting healthy aging and reducing age-related chronic health conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Data were derived from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), including pre-treatment covariates (2012), volunteer frequency and work status (2014), and five DNA methylation measures (2016) (N = 2,605). Generalized linear models were estimated to examine the relationship between volunteering and epigenetic age acceleration, stratified by retirement status. The analyses adjusted for relevant covariates and utilized energy balancing weights to account for selection into volunteering.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Findings show that volunteering, especially for 1–49 h per year and 200+ hours per year, was linked to less epigenetic age acceleration, with significant effects on DNA methylation measures PhenoAge, GrimAge, and DunedinPACE clocks. Among retired individuals, moderate volunteering was significantly associated with decelerated epigenetic age acceleration, indicating greater benefits for retirees compared to working individuals.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The study found that frequent volunteering may lead to decelerated epigenetic aging, potentially offering a public health intervention to enhance health and quality of life among older adults. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to understand how volunteering might differentially impact retired and working individuals. Such insights could guide the development of targeted strategies to promote healthy aging and address age-related health disparities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"364 ","pages":"Article 117501"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142695383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}