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Parcesepe AM, Stockton M, Bernard C, Kanguya T, Kwobah EK, Lopez A, Murenzi G, Ross J, Minga A, Maruri F, Tlali M, Goodrich S, Perazzo H, Musabyimana F, Nimkar S, Lancaster K, Consortium I. Prevalence and co-occurrence of symptoms of mental and substance use disorders among people with HIV age 40 and older in low- and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study. J Int AIDS Soc 2024; 27:e26359. [PMID: 39375051 PMCID: PMC11458263 DOI: 10.1002/jia2.26359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 10/09/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Due to the increased effectiveness of and access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), people with HIV (PWH) are living longer. As a result, the population of older PWH has increased. Mental and substance use disorders (MSDs) are common and frequently co-occurring among PWH and are associated with poor HIV care outcomes. Research into the prevalence and co-occurrence of MSDs among ageing PWH remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS We analysed data collected between 2020 and 2022 from the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) Sentinel Research Network cohort of PWH aged 40 years or older on ART at 11 HIV clinics in Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, India, Kenya, Mexico, Uganda, Rwanda, Togo, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We estimated the prevalence and co-occurrence of unhealthy alcohol use (AUDIT-C ≥3 for women, ≥4 for men), unhealthy drug use (ASSIST >3 for cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, inhalants, sedatives, hallucinogens and/or opioids), and moderate to severe symptoms of depression (PHQ-9 ≥10), anxiety (GAD-7 ≥10) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (PCL-5 ≥33). Psychiatric multimorbidity was defined as having symptoms of two or more disorders assessed. Log binomial models assessed the association between socio-demographic and HIV care characteristics and symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD or unhealthy substance use. RESULTS Of 2821 participants, the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol and drug use was 21% and 5%, respectively. The prevalence of moderate to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD was 14%, 9% and 6%, respectively. Overall, the prevalence of psychiatric multimorbidity was 11%. Among those with symptoms of at least one mental health or substance use outcome assessed (n = 1036), the prevalence of psychiatric multimorbidity was 31%. In binomial models, the prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety was higher, while the prevalence of unhealthy alcohol and drug use was lower among women than men. CONCLUSIONS Unhealthy alcohol use and symptoms of depression were most commonly reported, among this cohort of PWH aged 40 or older across 11 LMICs. Integration of MSD screening and treatment into HIV care should be prioritized. The effectiveness and implementation of transdiagnostic or multi-focus mental health treatment approaches in HIV care settings should be examined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela M. Parcesepe
- Department of Maternal and Child HealthGillings School of Global Public HealthUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
- Carolina Population CenterUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Melissa Stockton
- Department of EpidemiologyGillings School of Global Public HealthUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Charlotte Bernard
- University of Bordeaux, National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), Bordeaux Population Health Research Centre, UMR 1219, Team GHiGSBordeauxFrance
| | - Tukiya Kanguya
- Center for Infectious Disease and Research in ZambiaLusakaZambia
| | | | - Alvaro Lopez
- Departamento de InfectologíaInstituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición “Salvador Zubirán”Mexico CityMexico
| | - Gad Murenzi
- Rwanda Military Hospital and Research for Development (RD Rwanda)KigaliRwanda
| | - Jeremy Ross
- TREAT Asia/amfAR – The Foundation for AIDS ResearchBangkokThailand
| | - Albert Minga
- Centre Médical de Suivi des Donneurs de Sang/CNTSAbidjanCôte d'Ivoire
| | | | - Mpho Tlali
- Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology & Research (CIDER)School of Public Health & Family MedicineUniversity of Cape TownCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Suzanne Goodrich
- Division of Infectious DiseasesIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Hugo Perazzo
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases Evandro Chagas‐Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (INI/FIOCRUZ)Rio de JaneiroBrazil
| | | | - Smita Nimkar
- B J Government Medical College Clinical Research SitePuneIndia
| | | | - IeDEA Consortium
- Department of Maternal and Child HealthGillings School of Global Public HealthUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
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Ciancio A, Behrman J, Kämpfen F, Kohler IV, Maurer J, Mwapasa V, Kohler HP. Barker's Hypothesis Among the Global Poor: Positive Long-Term Cardiovascular Effects of in Utero Famine Exposure. Demography 2023; 60:1747-1766. [PMID: 37937904 PMCID: PMC10875974 DOI: 10.1215/00703370-11052790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
An influential literature on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) has documented that poor conditions in utero lead to higher risk of cardiovascular disease at older ages. Evidence from low-income countries (LICs) has hitherto been missing, despite the fact that adverse in utero conditions are far more common in LICs. We find that Malawians exposed in utero to the 1949 Nyasaland famine have better cardiovascular health 70 years later. These findings highlight the potential context specificity of the DOHaD hypothesis, with in utero adversity having different health implications among aging LIC individuals who were exposed to persistent poverty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Ciancio
- Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Jere Behrman
- Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Fabrice Kämpfen
- School of Economics, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Iliana V Kohler
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jürgen Maurer
- Department of Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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David IJ, Schatz E, Angotti N, Myroniuk TW, Mojola SA. "I'm Getting Life from the Treatment": Perceptions of Life and Death Among Middle-Aged and Older Medication-Adherent Persons Living with HIV in Rural South Africa. J Aging Soc Policy 2023:1-23. [PMID: 36973857 DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2023.2195348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
The widespread availability of health information and treatment for HIV in Southern Africa does not reach all populations. Few programs and materials are developed with middle-aged and older rural individuals living with HIV as the target audience, despite this being a growing population. This vacuum inevitably exacerbates the disjuncture between clinical and experiential knowledge. This study uses in-depth interviews from 2018 with middle-aged and older rural South Africans who self-report medication adherence to ART in order to explore experiences of living with HIV and beliefs about anti-retroviral treatment (ART). Participants revealed a general sense of vulnerability as a major motivation for HIV medication adherence. A majority of the participants believed that death was imminent if they defaulted on ART at any point in time. Although the availability of ART brought hope to many, HIV was still perceived as a death sentence, particularly if ART adherence was imperfect. The study findings suggest a need to examine the psychosocial component of community programs for middle-aged and older people living with HIV. For this growing population that experienced the full course of the epidemic, more research is needed on the burden of psychological and mental health issues emerging from the need for long-term HIV medication adherence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ifeolu J David
- Department of public health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Enid Schatz
- Department of public health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Nicole Angotti
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of sociology, American University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Tyler W Myroniuk
- Department of public health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Sanyu A Mojola
- School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of sociology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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Edwards N, Walker S, Paddick SM, Prina AM, Chinnasamy M, Reddy N, Mboya IB, Mtei M, Varghese M, Nakkasuja N, Guerra M, Sapkota N, Dotchin C. Prevalence of depression and anxiety in older people in low- and middle- income countries in Africa, Asia and South America: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 2023; 325:656-674. [PMID: 36681304 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is rapid growth of older people in Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LMICs). The aim of this review was to assess the literature on prevalence of anxiety and depression in this demographic, which to our knowledge, has not yet been conducted. METHODS Databases including Medline, PsychInfo, Embase, Scielo and African Journals Online were searched for terms including "mental disorders", "neurotic disorders", "mood disorders" and "anxiety disorders". Studies published between 1990 and 2020 providing data on older people (≥50 years) in LMICs (defined by World Bank Criteria) were included and quality-assessed. Meta-analysis was conducted on a subset of higher-quality studies to derive pooled prevalence estimates of depression. RESULTS One hundred and forty relevant studies were identified, of which thirty-two were included in meta-analysis. One hundred and fifteen studies reported depression prevalence only, 19 reported both depression and anxiety, and six reported anxiety only. In all studies identified, depression prevalence ranged from 0.5 % to 62.7 %, and Generalised Anxiety Disorder prevalence ranged from 0.2 % to 32.2 %. The pooled prevalence of depression on meta-analysis was 10.5 % (95 % CI, 8.9 % - 11.2 %). Reported prevalence rates of depression were significantly different in studies using ICD-10 compared with DSM criteria, and between community and clinical settings. LIMITATIONS The search strategy contained bias towards English language papers and high income country (HIC) publications. There is significant heterogeneity within the meta-analysis. DISCUSSION A wide range of methodologies and clinical criteria are used in prevalence studies of depression and anxiety in older people. Studies using screening tools found higher prevalence rates; clinicians and researchers should ensure diagnosis is made with gold-standard clinical criteria. Meta-analysis data suggest that rates of depression are similar in older people in LMICs compared to HICs but mental healthcare resources are limited, suggesting a large potential treatment gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Edwards
- Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
| | - S Walker
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK
| | - S-M Paddick
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Tyne and Wear, UK; Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK
| | - A M Prina
- Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - M Chinnasamy
- Bradford Primary Care NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK
| | - N Reddy
- Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK
| | - I B Mboya
- Institute of Public Health, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - M Mtei
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania
| | - M Varghese
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
| | - N Nakkasuja
- College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - M Guerra
- Memory and Depression Centre, Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University, Peru
| | - N Sapkota
- B.P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Eastern Nepal, Nepal
| | - C Dotchin
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Tyne and Wear, UK; Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Tyneside General Hospital, North Shields, UK
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Kohler IV, Kämpfen F, Bandawe C, Kohler HP. Cognition and Cognitive Changes in a Low-Income Sub-Saharan African Aging Population. J Alzheimers Dis 2023; 95:195-212. [PMID: 37522209 PMCID: PMC10588811 DOI: 10.3233/jad-230271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognition and its age-related changes remain vastly understudied in low-income countries (LICs), despite evidence suggesting that cognitive decline among aging low-income populations is a rapidly increasing disease burden often occurring at younger ages as compared to high-income countries (HICs). OBJECTIVE We examine patterns of cognition among men and women, 45 + years old, living in rural Malawi. We analyze how key socioeconomic characteristics predict levels of cognition and its changes as individuals get older. METHODS Utilizing the Mature Adults Cohort of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH-MAC) collected during 2012-2017, we estimate standard regression models to analyze predictors of the age- and sex-specific levels and longitudinal changes in cognition. Cognition is assessed with a screening instrument that is adapted to this low-literacy context and measures different domains such as language, attention, or executive functioning. RESULTS Women have lower levels of cognition than men, a pattern in stark contrast to findings in HICs. Schooling and socioeconomic status increase the probability of having consistently high performance during the cognitive assessment. Cognitive decline accelerates with age and is detectable already at mid-adult ages (45-55 years). Despite lower levels of cognitive function observed among women, the pace of decline with age is similar for both genders. CONCLUSION Women are particularly affected by poor cognition in this context. The study emphasizes the importance of prioritizing cognitive health and research on cognition among older individuals in sub-Saharan Africa LICs, to which relatively little health care resources continue to be allocated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iliana V Kohler
- Population Studies Center and Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Chiwoza Bandawe
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Population Aging Research Center and Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Jennings EA, Chinogurei C, Adams L. Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa. SSM - MENTAL HEALTH 2022; 2:100083. [PMID: 36277994 PMCID: PMC9581082 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper advances the understanding of how marital transitions may influence mental health by investigating these associations among a population of rural, Black South Africans aged 40+ that was directly impacted by apartheid. Using two waves of data from 4,176 men and women in Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we investigated associations between marital experiences and depressive symptoms, by gender, and explored whether economic resources is a moderator of these associations. We found that experiencing a marital dissolution was associated with more depressive symptoms than remaining married for both men and women. We also found that men, but not women, report greater depressive symptoms if they remained separated/divorced, remained widowed, or remained never married between waves. We found no evidence that a decline in wealth moderated the impact of marital dissolution on depressive symptoms for women or men. These findings suggest that the documented benefits of marriage for mental health, and differences by gender in those benefits, may extend to older, rural South Africans, despite the unique experiences of this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elyse A. Jennings
- Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA
| | - Chido Chinogurei
- School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Leslie Adams
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Scheve A, Bandawe C, Kohler HP, Kohler IV. Mental health and life-course shocks in a low-income country: Evidence from Malawi. SSM Popul Health 2022; 19:101098. [PMID: 35711726 PMCID: PMC9194642 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Economic insecurity has been widely hypothesized to be an important determinant of mental health, but this relationship has not been well-documented in low-income countries. Using data from the Mature Adults Cohort of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH-MAC), we investigate the association of negative economic shocks with mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety among adults aged 45+ years living in a low-income country. Using fixed effects estimates that control for time-invariant unobserved individual heterogeneity, we find that increased economic instability caused by events such as death of a family member, yield loss, or income loss is positively associated with worse mental health outcomes as measured by the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 instruments. Our results suggest that costly economic events are a key component to worsening mental health in settings characterized by pervasive poverty and underscore the importance of mental health as a public health and development target.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Population Aging Research Center (PARC), University of Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Iliana V. Kohler
- Population Studies Center (PSC), University of Pennsylvania, USA
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Tembo CP, Burns S, Portsmouth L. Maternal mental health of adolescent mothers: a cross-sectional mixed-method study protocol to determine cultural and social factors and mental health needs in Lilongwe, Malawi. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e056765. [PMID: 35568496 PMCID: PMC9109123 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Adolescence marks a transition of life from childhood to adulthood. Becoming a mother during adolescence presents unique challenges that have a significant mental and physical burden and may increase the likelihood of developing common mental disorders (CMDs). Untreated CMDs have serious effects on both the mother and her child. Culture constitutes an important context for most experiences, and affects how individuals seek help. However, there is limited research that has investigated how culture and social factors influence the adolescent mother's mental health during the postpartum period in Malawi. METHODS/DESIGN A cross-sectional sequential mixed methods design will be carried out in four phases. Phase one will include the preparatory phase and scoping review. The second phase will comprise a survey with adolescent mothers. The sample for the survey consists of adolescent postpartum mothers aged 14-19 years (with infants of up to 6 months of age) who have the capacity to consent for the study. Phase three will be a qualitative study in which in-depth interviews and focus group discussions will be employed to collect data from health workers and informal healthcare providers in the community (eg, traditional healers, traditional birth attendants). The fourth phase will involve developing recommendations for policy and practice ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study will provide an understanding of the impact of culture and social factors that influence adolescent mother's mental health and well-being, including the identification of potential risk and protective factors. The findings will inform recommendations for an appropriate, culturally accepted spectrum of interventions, including universal, selective and indicated prevention strategies. The findings will be disseminated to stakeholders working in maternal health in Malawi. Ethical approval was received from the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HRE2021-0223) and (P.05/21/575) Malawian Ethics Board National Committee on Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and Humanities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sharyn Burns
- School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Linda Portsmouth
- School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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Payne CF. Expansion, Compression, Neither, Both? Divergent Patterns in Healthy, Disability-Free, and Morbidity-Free Life Expectancy Across U.S. Birth Cohorts, 1998-2016. Demography 2022; 59:949-973. [PMID: 35522071 DOI: 10.1215/00703370-9938662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
This article explores how patterns of health, morbidity, and disability have changed across successive generations of older adults in the United States. Using a novel method for comparing state-specific partial life expectancies-that is, total life expectancy (LE), and health expectancies (HEs) in different health states, bounded between two ages-I explore changes in healthy life expectancy across successive birth cohorts of the U.S. population. Results show that little compression of disability is occurring across cohorts, LE with chronic morbidities has expanded considerably, and self-rated health is improving across cohorts, but only at ages 70+. These findings suggest that successive cohorts in the U.S. population may be on divergent paths in terms of late-life health and well-being. Exploring heterogeneity in these patterns, I find that less educated individuals have substantially lower partial LE and disability-free LE than those with more schooling, and that disability-free life is declining among those with less than a high school diploma. Differences in HEs are pervasive across racial and ethnic groups, and both disabled LE and unhealthy LE are expanding in some disadvantaged subgroups. The continued increases in partial LE with morbidities across successive cohorts, and the broad stagnation of disability-free and healthy LE, present a broad view of a U.S. population in which successive generations are not living healthier lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Collin F Payne
- School of Demography, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
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10
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Kohler IV, Ciancio A, Kämpfen F, Kohler HP, Mwapasa V, Chilima B, Vinkhumbo S, Mwera J, Maurer J. Pain Is Widespread and Predicts Poor Mental Health Among Older Adults in Rural Malawi. Innov Aging 2022; 6:igac008. [PMID: 35542563 PMCID: PMC9074811 DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igac008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Objectives Pain is common among older persons and has been documented as an important predictor of disability, health, and economic outcomes. Evidence about its prevalence and relationship to well-being is scarce in rural sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where work is frequently physically demanding, and pain prevention or treatment options are limited. We investigate the prevalence of pain and its association with mental health and subjective well-being in a population-based study of older adults in rural Malawi. Research Design and Methods We estimate the prevalence, severity, and duration of pain along with its sociodemographic distribution in a sample of 1,577 individuals aged 45 and older. We assess the association of pain with clinically validated measures of mental health, including depression and anxiety, and subjective well-being. Results Pain is widespread in this mature population with an average age of 60 years: 62% of respondents report the experience of at least minor pain during the last year, and half of these cases report severe or disabling pain. Women are more likely to report pain than men. Pain is a strong predictor of mental health and subjective well-being for both genders. More severe or longer pain episodes are associated with worse mental states. Individuals reporting pain are more likely to suffer from depression or express suicidal thoughts. Discussion and Implications Our study identifies key subpopulations such as older women in a SSA low-income context who are particularly affected by the experience of pain in daily life and calls for interventions targeting pain and its consequences for mental health and subjective well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iliana V Kohler
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Alberto Ciancio
- Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Fabrice Kämpfen
- School of Economics, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Population Aging Research Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | | | - Steve Vinkhumbo
- Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - James Mwera
- Invest in Knowledge Initiative, Zomba, Malawi
| | - Jürgen Maurer
- Department of Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Huang Z, Kämpfen F. The association between depressive symptoms and self-reported sleep difficulties among college students: Truth or reporting bias? PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246370. [PMID: 33606696 PMCID: PMC7894923 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The strong association between self-reported sleep difficulties and depressive symptoms is well documented. However, individuals who suffer from depressive symptoms could potentially interpret the values attached to a subjective scale differently from others, making comparisons of sleep difficulties across individuals with different depressive symptoms problematic. The objective of this study is to determine the existence and magnitude of reporting heterogeneity in subjective assessment of sleep difficulties by those who have depressive symptoms. We implement an online survey using Visual Analogue Scales and anchoring vignettes to study the comparability of subjective assessments of sleep difficulties among college students in Switzerland (N = 1, 813). Using multivariate linear regressions and double-index models, our analysis shows that reporting heterogeneity plays only a marginal role in moderating the association between sleep difficulties and depression, irrespective of the severity of the depressive symptoms of the individuals. This suggests that unadjusted comparisons of self-reported sleep difficulties between college students are meaningful, even among individuals with depressive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyong Huang
- Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China
| | - Fabrice Kämpfen
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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Moucheraud C, Paul-Schultz J, Mphande M, Banda BA, Sigauke H, Kumwenda V, Dovel K, Hoffman RM. A Multi-Dimensional Characterization of Aging and Wellbeing Among HIV-Positive Adults in Malawi. AIDS Behav 2021; 25:571-581. [PMID: 32880762 PMCID: PMC7855286 DOI: 10.1007/s10461-020-03020-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
There is relatively little research on aging with HIV and wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa. A cross-sectional survey was implemented in Malawi; eligible respondents were ≥ 30 years old and on ART for ≥ 2 years. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were stratified by age (younger adults: aged 30-49; older adults: aged ≥ 50) and gender. The median age was 51 years (total sample n = 134). Viral suppression was less common among older respondents (83.7% versus 93.0% among younger respondents) although not significant in adjusted models. Despite exhibiting worse physical and cognitive functioning (any physical functioning challenge: aOR 5.35, p = 0.02; cognitive functioning score difference: - 0.89 points, p = 0.04), older adults reported less interpersonal violence and fewer depressive symptoms (mild depression: aOR 0.23 p = 0.002; major depression: aOR 0.16, p = 0.004); in gender-stratified models, these relationships were significant only for females. More research is needed to disentangle the interplay between aging, gender and HIV in high-burden contexts and develop interventions to support comprehensive wellbeing in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Kathryn Dovel
- UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Risa M Hoffman
- UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Atakro CA, Atakro A, Aboagye JS, Blay AA, Addo SB, Agyare DF, Adatara P, Amoa-Gyarteng KG, Menlah A, Garti I, Boni GS, Berchie OK, Ansong IK. Older people's challenges and expectations of healthcare in Ghana: A qualitative study. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245451. [PMID: 33465117 PMCID: PMC7815149 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The increase in the number of elderly persons in developing countries has not had a corresponding increase in social and health care support systems for the elderly. There is a substantial difference in the quality of healthcare received by older people in developing and developed countries. Elderly persons in developing countries including Ghana are increasingly becoming marginalised and isolated. There is, however, limited evidence of healthcare challenges and expectations by elderly persons in Ghana. This study explored healthcare challenges and expectations of elderly persons to inform policy that could lead to improved quality of life for elderly persons in Ghana. MATERIALS AND METHODS Qualitative exploratory descriptive study design was used in conducting this study. Semi-structured interviews were used in collecting data from 30 participants from three regions in Ghana (10 from each region). Data analysis was carried out through content analysis. RESULTS Four themes were extracted from data. These themes were: 1. Inadequate information from health workers regarding care of the older person. 2. Queuing frustrations. 3. Financial burden. 4. Focused elderly care demand. CONCLUSION The elderly in Ghana experience challenges of healthcare which include inadequate information, queuing frustrations and financial burdens. Elderly persons also have expectations of healthcare which include having dedicated professionals and units that will attend to them during their hospital visits. Academic and clinical gerontology experts could collaborate and help improve gerontology knowledge of health workers through workshops and conferences. Improving knowledge of health workers in gerontology may be a positive step towards meeting healthcare expectations of older Ghanaians.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Janet Sintim Aboagye
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Alice Aluwah Blay
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Stella Boatemaa Addo
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana
| | | | - Peter Adatara
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
| | | | | | | | | | - Osei Kwaku Berchie
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, Christian Service University College, Kumasi, Ghana
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Myroniuk TW, Kohler HP, Kohler IV. Marital dissolutions and changes in mental health: Evidence from rural Malawi. DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 2021; 44:993-1022. [PMID: 36819791 PMCID: PMC9937544 DOI: 10.4054/demres.2021.44.41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Advancing efforts to unpack the complex relationship between marital dissolutions and health outcomes increasingly requires assessing the marital histories and health of individuals who have lived long enough to experience divorce or widowhood ‒ or even multiples of each ‒ and measurable changes in health. OBJECTIVE To explore this line of inquiry, we chose a sample from rural Malawi where a high prevalence of marital dissolutions and remarrying exists, as an ideal theoretical foil to the predominant literature found in high-income countries (HICs). We examine if changes in having experienced a marital dissolution, one's total number of dissolutions, and the percentage of one's life spent outside of marriage since first becoming married are associated with changes in mental health. METHODS Our analyses focus on 1,266 respondents aged 45 years and older who participated in the 2012 Mature Adults Cohort of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH-MAC), linked back to cohort information from 2008 and 2010 available through the MLSFH. Fixed-effects regressions guide our inferences over the 2008, 2010, and 2012 waves of data. RESULTS For men, spending more life outside of marriage is associated with worse mental health, while more marital dissolutions are surprisingly associated with better mental health for women. CONCLUSIONS These results could suggest that larger portions of one's life spent unmarried are associated with a type of role strain for men or simply that men are burdened with taking up tasks that their spouses had previously done in order to survive. For women, many may have gotten out of 'bad' marriages that otherwise would have been detrimental to their mental health and/or those in good mental health are the ones able to remarry. CONTRIBUTIONS Our research from rural Malawi provides a type of litmus test for many HICs where marriage, remarriage, and dissolution rates are lower but quite consequential for mental health outcomes. Measuring time outside of marriage should be more strongly considered in such settings. These results also inform increasingly important research on the relationship between marital dissolutions and mental health in other African nations as noncommunicable diseases play a continually more important role in people's lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler W Myroniuk
- University of Missouri, Department of Public Health, 825 Lewis Hall, 65211 Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Population Aging Research Center (PARC) and Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania., USA
| | - Iliana V Kohler
- Population Studies Center (PSC) and Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, USA
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15
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Brinkmann B, Payne CF, Kohler I, Harling G, Davies J, Witham M, Siedner MJ, Sie A, Bountogo M, Ouermi L, Coulibaly B, Bärnighausen T. Depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease: a population-based study of older adults in rural Burkina Faso. BMJ Open 2020; 10:e038199. [PMID: 33371016 PMCID: PMC7757460 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To contribute to the current understanding of depressive disorders in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries by examining the association of depressive symptoms with cardiovascular and cardiometabolic conditions in a population-based study of middle-aged and older adults in rural Burkina Faso. SETTING This study was conducted in the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance System in north-western Burkina Faso, in a mixed rural and small-town environment. The data were obtained between May and July 2018. PARTICIPANTS Consenting adults over 40 years of age (n=3026). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ-9). Chronic cardiometabolic conditions were assessed via a lipid panel and glycated haemoglobin measures from serum, alongside anthropometry and blood pressure measurements and a self-reported questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression was used to test the relationship between depressive symptoms and cardiovascular/cardiometabolic conditions after controlling for sociodemographic factors. RESULTS Depressive symptoms were not associated with the metabolic syndrome (standardised beta coefficient=0.00 (95% CI -0.04 to 0.03)), hypertension (beta=0.01 (95% CI -0.02 to 0.05)), diabetes mellitus (beta=0.00 (95% CI -0.04 to 0.04)) and past diagnosis of elevated blood pressure or blood sugar. Prior stroke diagnosis (beta=0.04 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.07)) or heart disease (beta=0.08 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.11)) was positively associated with the standardised PHQ-9 score as were self-reported stroke symptoms. CONCLUSION Objectively measured cardiometabolic conditions had no significant association with depressive symptoms in an older, poor, rural SSA population, in contrast to observations in high income countries. However, consequences of cardiovascular disease such as stroke and heart attack were associated with depressive symptoms in older adults in Burkina Faso.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Brinkmann
- Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Collin F Payne
- School of Demography, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Iliana Kohler
- Population Studies Center (PSC) and Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Guy Harling
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK
- Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- MRC/Wits Rural Public Health & Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Justine Davies
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Miles Witham
- AGE Research Group, NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Mark J Siedner
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ali Sie
- Centre de Recherche en Sante de Nouna, Nouna, Boucle du Mouhoun, Burkina Faso
| | - Mamadou Bountogo
- Centre de Recherche en Sante de Nouna, Nouna, Boucle du Mouhoun, Burkina Faso
| | - Lucienne Ouermi
- Centre de Recherche en Sante de Nouna, Nouna, Boucle du Mouhoun, Burkina Faso
| | - Boubacar Coulibaly
- Centre de Recherche en Sante de Nouna, Nouna, Boucle du Mouhoun, Burkina Faso
| | - Till Bärnighausen
- Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
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16
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Predictors of mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in the US: Role of economic concerns, health worries and social distancing. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241895. [PMID: 33175894 PMCID: PMC7657497 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the profound health and economic implications of Covid-19, there is only limited knowledge to date about the role of economic concerns, health worries and social distancing for mental health outcomes during the pandemic. We analyze online survey data from the nationally representative "Understanding America Study" (UAS) covering the period of March 10-31st 2020 (sample size: 6,585). Mental health is assessed by the validated PHQ-4 instrument for measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety. About 29% (CI:27.4-.30.4%) of the US adult population reported some depression/anxiety symptoms over the study period, with symptoms deteriorating over the month of March. Worsening mental health was most strongly associated with concerns about the economic consequences of the pandemic, while concerns about the potential implications of the virus for respondents' own health and social distancing also predicted increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety during the early stages of the pandemic in the US, albeit less strongly. Our findings point towards the possibility of a major mental health crisis unfolding simultaneously with the pandemic, with economic concerns being a key driving force of this crisis. These results highlight the likely importance of economic countermeasures and social policy for mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on adult mental health in the US over and above an effective public health response.
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Kohler IV, Bandawe C, Ciancio A, Kämpfen F, Payne CF, Mwera J, Mkandawire J, Kohler HP. Cohort profile: the mature adults cohort of the Malawi longitudinal study of families and health (MLSFH-MAC). BMJ Open 2020; 10:e038232. [PMID: 33067285 PMCID: PMC7569924 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The Mature Adults Cohort of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH-MAC) contributes to global ageing studies by providing a rare opportunity to study the processes of individual and population ageing, the public health and social challenges associated with ageing and the coincident shifts in disease burdens, in a low-income, high HIV prevalence, sub-Saharan African (SSA) context. PARTICIPANTS The MLSFH-MAC is an open population-based cohort study of mature adults aged 45+ years living in rural communities in three districts in Malawi. Enrolment at baseline is 1266 individuals in 2012. Follow-ups were in 2013, 2017 and 2018 when the cohort size reached 1626 participants in 2018. FINDINGS TO DATE Survey instruments cover ageing-related topics such as cognitive and mental health, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and related health literacy, subjective survival expectations, measured biomarkers including HIV, grip strength, hypertension, fasting glucose, body mass index (BMI), broad individual-level and household-level social and economic information, a 2018 qualitative survey of mature adults and community officials, 2019 surveys of village heads, healthcare facilities and healthcare providers in the MLSFH-MAC study areas. Across many domains, MLSFH-MAC allows for comparative research with global ageing studies through harmonised measures and instruments. Key findings to date include a high prevalence of depression and anxiety among older adults, evidence for rapid declines in cognitive health with age, a low incidence of HIV among mature adults, rising prevalence of HIV due to increased survival of HIV-positive individuals and poor physical health with high NCD prevalence. FUTURE PLANS An additional wave of MLSFH-MAC is forthcoming in 2021, and future expansions of the cohort are planned. MLSFH-MAC data will also be publicly released and will provide a wealth of information unprecedented for ageing studies in a low-income SSA context that broadly represents the socioeconomic environment of millions of individuals in south-eastern Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iliana V Kohler
- Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Chiwoza Bandawe
- Department of Mental Health, University of Malawi, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Alberto Ciancio
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Fabrice Kämpfen
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Collin F Payne
- School of Demography, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, New South Wales, Australia
| | - James Mwera
- Invest in Knowledge Initiative (IKI), Zomba, Malawi
| | | | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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18
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Jennings EA, Ralston M, Schatz E. Support in times of need: How depressive symptoms can impact receipt of social support among aging adults in rural South Africa. SSM Popul Health 2020; 12:100666. [PMID: 33072842 PMCID: PMC7549146 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The relationship between mental health and receipt of social support is not well understood in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we focus on a cohort of older adults (40-plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between mental health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which marital status modifies these associations. We use baseline data from a population-based study, Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), conducted between 2014 and 2015. Our results suggest that men and women who report depressive symptoms are less likely to receive social support: women are less likely to receive emotional and financial support, and men are less likely to receive physical and financial support. Both men and women who are married or partnered are more likely to receive social support than their non-married counterparts. The association between depressive symptomology and receipt of social support differs for women who are separated/divorced and for men who are widowed. Specifically, the association between having depressive symptoms and receiving physical or financial support is more positive for separated/divorced women than their married/cohabiting counterparts; for men, the association between having depressive symptoms and receiving physical support is more positive for widowed men than their married/cohabiting counterparts. Our findings speak to the complicated associations between social support, marriage and mental health in later life and the different experiences that men and women may have. We estimate links between mental health and receipt of social support among a cohort of aging adults in rural South Africa. Having depressive symptoms is negatively associated with odds of receiving some types of social support for men and women. Married men and women have greater odds of receiving all types of social support relative to non-married counterparts. Depressive symptoms are more positively associated with receipt of physical support for widowed vs. married men. Depressive symptoms more positively linked with receipt of physical or financial support for divorced vs. married women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elyse A Jennings
- Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Enid Schatz
- Department of Public Health and Women's & Gender Studies, University of Missouri, MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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19
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Clark S, Cotton C, Margolis R, Kohler HP. The Psychological Benefits of Marriage and Children in Rural Malawi. Stud Fam Plann 2020; 51:251-272. [PMID: 32720321 PMCID: PMC7778373 DOI: 10.1111/sifp.12133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Despite an extensive literature on the psychological rewards of marriage and children in high-income countries, research on these relationships in low-income countries remains limited. This paper draws on data from 4,133 adult women and men interviewed in the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health to examine how marital status, categorized as never, formerly, monogamously, and polygynously married, and number of children are associated with psychological well-being. With respect to marital status, we find that women in polygynous unions fare worse than monogamously married women and this detrimental effect is stronger for women than for men. Formerly married men and women of reproductive age experience the worst psychological outcomes, although this association wanes with age. In contrast, the benefits of having children is only evident among older Malawian women. These findings offer novel insights into the patterns of nearly universal marriage and high fertility that characterize Malawi and much of sub-Saharan Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley Clark
- Department of Sociology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2T7, Canada
| | - Cassandra Cotton
- School of Social & Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Rachel Margolis
- Department of Sociology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5C2, Canada
| | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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20
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Ohrnberger J, Anselmi L, Fichera E, Sutton M. Validation of the SF12 mental and physical health measure for the population from a low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2020; 18:78. [PMID: 32188461 PMCID: PMC7081543 DOI: 10.1186/s12955-020-01323-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The Short Form Survey 12-item (SF12) mental and physical health version has been applied in several studies on populations from Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the SF12 has not been computed and validated for these populations. We address in this paper these gaps in the literature and use a health intervention example in Malawi to show the importance of our analysis for health policy. Methods We firstly compute the weights of the SF12 physical and mental health measure for the Malawian population using principal component analysis on a sample of 2838 adults from wave four (2006) of Malawian Longitudinal Study of Aging (MLSFH). We secondly test the construct validity of our computed and the US-population weighted SF12 measures using regression analysis and Fixed Effect estimation on waves four, seven (2012) and eight (2013) of the MLSFH. Finally, we use a Malawian cash transfer programme to exemplify the implications of using US- and Malawi-weighted SF12 mental health measures in policy evaluation. Results We find that the Malawian SF12 health measure weighted by our computed Malawian population weights is strongly associated with other mental health measures (Depression:-0.501, p = < 0.001; Anxiety:-1.755; p = < 0.001) and shows better construct validity in comparison to the US-weighted SF12 mental health component (rs = 0.675 versus rs = 0.495). None of the SF12 measures shows strong associations with other measures of physical health. The estimated average effect of the cash transfer is significant when using the Malawi-weighted SF12 mental health measure (treatment effect: 1.124; p = < 0.1), but not when using the US-weighted counterpart (treatment effect: 1.129; p > 0.1). The weightings affect the size of the impacts across mental health quantiles suggesting that the weighting scheme matters for empirical health policy analysis. Conclusion Mental health shows more pronounced associations with the physical health dimension in a Low-Income Country like Malawi compared to the US. This is important for the construct validity of the SF12 health measures and has strong implications in health policy analysis. Further analysis is required for the physical health dimension of the SF12.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Ohrnberger
- School of Public Health, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College London, London, England.
| | - Laura Anselmi
- Division of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care, University of Manchester, Manchester, England
| | - Eleonora Fichera
- Department of Economics, University of Bath, Manchester, England
| | - Matt Sutton
- Division of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care, University of Manchester, Manchester, England
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21
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Smith-Greenaway E, Yeatman S. Unrealized Educational Expectations and Mental Health: Evidence from a Low-Income Country. SOCIAL FORCES; A SCIENTIFIC MEDIUM OF SOCIAL STUDY AND INTERPRETATION 2020; 98:1112-1142. [PMID: 33981122 PMCID: PMC8112255 DOI: 10.1093/sf/soz021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The rapid expansion of schooling across low-income countries, combined with intensive governmental and nongovernmental efforts to promote education, has encouraged youth in these contexts to form exceptionally high educational expectations, despite immense structural barriers to achieving them. Consequently, many young people's educational expectations go unmet, driving concerns over the possible unintended consequences, including their elevated risk of mental health problems. At the same time, role transitions (e.g., marriage, parenthood) remain important elements of the transition to adulthood in many low-income countries, and may be a source of resilience-allowing youth to shift their identity away from education towards a new role. In this study, we explore the mental health implications of young women's unmet educational expectations, and the possible buffering impact of motherhood, in a low-income community in Malawi, in southeast Africa. Analyses of six years of longitudinal data show that young women's unmet expectations to continue school are associated with multiple indicators of mental health disadvantage across two points in time. In the short term, however, this is only true of young women who did not enter motherhood in the midst of their educational plans going unrealized: young women who became mothers-and thus achieved a key element of the transition to adulthood in this setting-experience fewer mental health disadvantages. The findings demonstrate the potential mental health consequences of young adults' expectations exceeding their outcomes while also highlighting a source of resilience.
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22
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Huang Z, Kohler IV, Kämpfen F. A Single-Item Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) Measure for Assessing Depression Among College Students. Community Ment Health J 2020; 56:355-367. [PMID: 31531784 DOI: 10.1007/s10597-019-00469-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
There is an increased need for efficient, low-cost methods to collect information on a range of widely prevalent mental health outcomes in the general population that can be administered outside of clinical settings. We evaluate the validity of a single-item Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for assessing the presence and severity of depression and compare its performance with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scale using a large non-clinical sample (N = 1816) of college students from Switzerland. The VAS scale is strongly correlated with the PHQ-9 total score (0.61) and its 9 individual items (ranging from 0.19 to 0.67). ROC analysis shows that the VAS scale has high accuracy for detecting the presence and different levels (mild to severe) of depression corresponding to PHQ-9 cutoffs. The VAS depression scale represents a simple, easily implementable instrument that is suitable for mental health research in common settings and larger population-based studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyong Huang
- Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China
| | - Iliana V Kohler
- Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.,Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Fabrice Kämpfen
- Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. .,Department of Economics, HEC, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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23
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Payne CF, Pesando LM, Kohler HP. Private Intergenerational Transfers, Family Structure, and Health in a sub-Saharan African Context. POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW 2019; 45:41-80. [PMID: 32440034 PMCID: PMC7241093 DOI: 10.1111/padr.12225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Collin F Payne
- Australian National University College of Arts and Social Sciences, School of DemographyHC Coombs Building, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Luca Maria Pesando
- University of Pennsylvania, Population Studies Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- University of Pennsylvania, Department of Sociology, 3718 Locust Walk/272 McNeil Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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24
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Zhu Z, Hu Y, Xing W, Guo M, Zhao R, Han S, Wu B. Identifying Symptom Clusters Among People Living With HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in China: A Network Analysis. J Pain Symptom Manage 2019; 57:617-626. [PMID: 30465875 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT There exists a research interest shift from separate symptoms to symptom clusters among people living with HIV (PLWH), which may provide a better understanding of symptom management in HIV/AIDS care. However, the symptom clusters among Chinese PLWH are still unknown. OBJECTIVES The aim of our study was to identify symptom clusters and to examine demographic and health-related factors associated with these symptom clusters among PLWH prescribing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in China. METHODS From April to September 2017, we recruited 1116 participants through a convenience sampling in five HIV/AIDS designated facilities in the eastern, middle, and southwest regions of China. The principal component analysis was used to identify the symptom clusters. Association network was adopted to describe the relationships among symptoms and clusters. A multiple linear model was used to investigate the associated factors for the severity of overall symptoms and the prevalence of each symptom clusters. RESULTS Five symptom clusters were identified, including cognitive dysfunction, mood disturbance, wasting syndrome, dizziness/headache, and skin-muscle-joint disorder. Cognitive dysfunction was the most central symptom cluster. Variables including primary caregiver during ART treatment, years of HIV diagnosis and ART use, having comorbidity, self-rated health, and quality of life were associated with the prevalence of these five symptom clusters. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that there is a need to evaluate symptom clusters for the improvement of symptom management among PLWH. It is particularly important to include assessment and treatment of cognitive symptoms as an essential component of the HIV care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Zhu
- Fudan University School of Nursing, Shanghai, China; Fudan University Centre for Evidence-based Nursing: A Joanna Briggs Institute Centre of Excellence, Shanghai, China
| | - Yan Hu
- Fudan University School of Nursing, Shanghai, China; Fudan University Centre for Evidence-based Nursing: A Joanna Briggs Institute Centre of Excellence, Shanghai, China.
| | - Weijie Xing
- Fudan University School of Nursing, Shanghai, China; Fudan University Centre for Evidence-based Nursing: A Joanna Briggs Institute Centre of Excellence, Shanghai, China
| | - Mengdi Guo
- School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Rui Zhao
- Fudan University School of Nursing, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuyu Han
- Fudan University School of Nursing, Shanghai, China
| | - Bei Wu
- NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York City, New York, USA
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25
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Anglewicz P, VanLandingham M, Manda-Taylor L, Kohler HP. Health Selection, Migration, and HIV Infection in Malawi. Demography 2018; 55:979-1007. [PMID: 29704193 PMCID: PMC5993628 DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0668-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Despite its importance in studies of migrant health, selectivity of migrants-also known as migration health selection-has seldom been examined in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This neglect is problematic because several features of the context in which migration occurs in SSA-very high levels of HIV, in particular-differ from contextual features in regions that have been studied more thoroughly. To address this important gap, we use longitudinal panel data from Malawi to examine whether migrants differ from nonmigrants in pre-migration health, assessed via SF-12 measures of mental and physical health. In addition to overall health selection, we focus on three more-specific factors that may affect the relationship between migration and health: (1) whether migration health selection differs by destination (rural-rural, rural-town, and rural-urban), (2) whether HIV infection moderates the relationship between migration and health, and (3) whether circular migrants differ in pre-migration health status. We find evidence of the healthy migrant phenomenon in Malawi, where physically healthier individuals are more likely to move. This relationship varies by migration destination, with healthier rural migrants moving to urban and other rural areas. We also find interactions between HIV-infected status and health: HIV-infected women moving to cities are physically healthier than their nonmigrant counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Anglewicz
- Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street Suite 2210, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
| | - Mark VanLandingham
- Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street Suite 2210, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
| | - Lucinda Manda-Taylor
- Malawi College of Medicine, John Chiphangwi Learning Resource Centre, University of Malawi, 3rd Floor, Private Bag 360, Chichiri Blantyre 3, Malawi
| | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6299, USA
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Cognition, Health, and Well-Being in a Rural Sub-Saharan African Population. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POPULATION-REVUE EUROPEENNE DE DEMOGRAPHIE 2017; 34:637-662. [PMID: 30381778 DOI: 10.1007/s10680-017-9445-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive health is an important dimension of well-being in older ages, but few studies have investigated the demography of cognitive health in sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) growing population of mature adults (= persons age 45+). We use data from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) to document the age and gender patterns of cognitive health, the contextual and life-course correlates of poor cognitive health, and the understudied linkages between cognitive and physical/mental well-being. Surprisingly, the age-pattern of decline in cognitive health is broadly similar to that observed in the U.S. We also find that women have substantially worse cognitive health than men, and experience a steeper age-gradient in cognitive ability. Strong social ties and exposure to socially complex environments are associated with higher cognitive health, as is higher socioeconomic status. Poor cognitive health is associated with adverse social and economic well-being outcomes such as less nutrition intake, lower income, and reduced work efforts even in this subsistence agriculture context. Lower levels of cognitive health are also strongly associated with increased levels of depression and anxiety, and are associated with worse physical health measured through both self-reports and physical performance. Our findings suggest that cognition plays a key-but understudied-role in shaping late-life well-being in low-income populations.
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Anglewicz P, VanLandingham M, Manda-Taylor L, Kohler HP. Cohort profile: internal migration in sub-Saharan Africa-The Migration and Health in Malawi (MHM) study. BMJ Open 2017; 7:e014799. [PMID: 28515195 PMCID: PMC5541335 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The Migration and Health in Malawi (MHM) study focuses on a key challenge in migration research: although it has long been established that migration and health are closely linked, identifying the effect of migration on various health outcomes is complicated by methodological challenges. The MHM study uses a longitudinal panel premigration and postmigration study design (with a non-migrant comparison group) to measure and/or control for important characteristics that affect both migration and health outcomes. PARTICIPANTS Data are available for two waves. The MHM interviewed 398 of 715 migrants in 2007 (55.7%) and 722 of 1013 in 2013 (71.3%); as well as 604 of 751 (80.4%) for a non-migrant reference group in 2013. The total interviewed sample size for the MHM in both waves is 1809. These data include extensive information on lifetime migration, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, sexual behaviours, marriage, household/family structure, social networks and social capital, HIV/AIDS biomarkers and other dimensions of health. FINDINGS TO DATE Our result for the relationship between migration and health differs by health measure and analytic approach. Migrants in Malawi have a significantly higher HIV prevalence than non-migrants, which is primarily due to the selection of HIV-positive individuals into migration. We find evidence for health selection; physically healthier men and women are more likely to move, partly because migration selects younger individuals. However, we do not find differences in physical or mental health between migrants and non-migrants after moving. FUTURE PLANS We are preparing a third round of data collection for these (and any new) migrants, which will take place in 2018. This cohort will be used to examine the effect of migration on various health measures and behaviours, including general mental and physical health, smoking and alcohol use, access to and use of health services and use of antiretroviral therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Anglewicz
- Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Science, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Mark VanLandingham
- Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Science, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | | | - Hans-Peter Kohler
- Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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