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Hasselgren C, Ekbrand H, Halleröd B, Mellqvist Fässberg M, Zettergren A, Johansson L, Skoog I, Dellve L. Sex differences in dementia: on the potentially mediating effects of educational attainment and experiences of psychological distress. BMC Psychiatry 2020; 20:434. [PMID: 32887574 PMCID: PMC7487622 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-020-02820-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Old-age dementias are known to disproportionally affect women as well as individuals with low educational attainment. The higher lifetime risk of dementia among women is usually attributed to their longer life expectancy. However, the impact of sex, and subsequent gender inequity, is likely to be more multifaceted than this explanation implies. Not least because of historical inequities in access to education between the sexes and the gender and socio-economic gradients in risk factors such as stress, depression and social isolation. Consequently, the present study sought to test whether differences in educational attainment and experiences of general psychological distress mediate the association between female sex and dementia. METHODS The study utilizes data obtained through the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Study and the Prospective Populations Study on Women (n = 892). Data were analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Weighted Least Squares Means and Variance adjusted (WLSMV) estimation. General psychological distress was indicated by a latent variable and constructed from five manifest items (previous depression, stress, self-esteem, chronic loneliness and satisfaction with social situation) that were all measured at baseline. RESULTS While the results could not corroborate that education directly mediates the effect of sex on dementia, level of distress was predicted by both female sex (0.607, p < .001) and education (- 0.166, p < .01) and, in turn, shown to be significantly associated with dementia (0.167, p < .05), also after controlling for confounders. When time from baseline to diagnosis was increased through sequential exclusion of dementia cases, the effect of distress on dementia was no longer significant. CONCLUSION The overall findings suggest that social (dis) advantage predicts general psychological distress, which thereby constitutes a potential, and rarely acknowledged, pathway between female sex, education, and dementia. They further underline the importance of attending to both education and distress as 'gendered' phenomena when considering the nature of their associations with dementia. However, the possibility of reverse causality bias must be acknowledged and the need for longitudinal studies with longer follow-up stressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Hasselgren
- Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Box 720, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health - AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
| | - Hans Ekbrand
- Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Box 720, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Björn Halleröd
- Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Box 720, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health - AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Madeleine Mellqvist Fässberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health - AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Anna Zettergren
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health - AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Lena Johansson
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health - AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Ingmar Skoog
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health - AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Lotta Dellve
- Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Box 720, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health - AgeCap, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
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