Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in the UK Biobank: The Moderating Role of Sociability

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are signs of cognitive decline and associated disorders. The effects of socioeconomic status and social interaction on cognitive decline have already been well documented. Accordingly, the present study aimed to build on the work investigating those factors and cognitive health by examining the relationships between socioeconomic status, sociability, and neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Methods: Data from the UK Biobank (N = 301,848) were subjected to logistic regressions to examine the relationship between socioeconomic status, sociability, and neuropsychiatric symptoms and sociability to identify any potential moderator in the socioeconomic status-neuropsychiatric symptoms relationship. Specifically, socioeconomic status was defined by the Townsend deprivation index, while sociability was constructed using a cumulative score of four aspects. Meanwhile, neuropsychiatric symptoms were represented by depression, anxiety, and irritability, each of which had a genetic risk score calculated.

Results: Individuals who reported lower socioeconomic status also reported more depression and anxiety, while those with higher sociability reported fewer depression and anxiety. Further, it was found that sociability moderated the relationship between socioeconomic status and two symptoms: depression and anxiety. No significant moderating effects were found regarding irritability.

Conclusion: The study results indicate the need for interventions aimed at neuropsychiatric symptoms to reduce possible cognitive disorders. They also demonstrate the need to eliminate economic and social disparities and the importance of improving sociability.