266566 Associations between frequent mental distress and housing and food insecurity among racial and ethnic minorities in the US: REACH US Risk Factors Survey, 2009-2011

Monday, October 29, 2012

Danielle T. Barradas, PhD , Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Rashid Njai, MPH, PhD , Division of Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Hong Zhou, MPH , Division of Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
William W. Thompson, PhD , NCCDPHP, Division of Population Health, Arthritis, Epilepsy, and Quality of Life Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Background: Interest within the public health community in social determinants of health (SDoH) and their relationship to mental health has increased substantially in recent years. However, population-based data systems have generally been limited to socioeconomic status indicators and often lack sufficient samples of racial and ethnic minorities to describe potentially complex relationships between SDoH and racial and ethnic health disparities.

Methods: Using data from the REACH US Risk Factors Survey (2009-2011), a population-based, cross-sectional telephone survey, we examined multivariate associations between frequent mental distress (FMD, >14 mentally unhealthy days in the past 30 days) and housing and food insecurity among black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian/Alaska Native men (18-49 years) and women (18-44 years) residing in 28 communities (unweighted n=70,233), using separate race/ethnicity- and sex-stratified models adjusted for age, education, and household income. Adjusted prevalence ratios are reported.

Results: Overall, prevalence of FMD was 14.0% (95% CI=13.6-14.5). Prevalence of FMD among adults reporting housing insecurity was 19.6% (95% CI=18.8-20.4). Compared to their racial/ethnic counterparts who reported being housing secure, black adults reporting housing insecurity were 2.2 times as likely to report FMD (95% CI=2.0-2.4).Housing insecure Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians were 2.2 (95% CI=2.0-2.4), 2.6 (95% CI=2.3-3.0) and 2.1 (95% CI=1.8-2.3) times as likely to report FMD, respectively. Similar associations were observed regarding FMD and food insecurity. Observed associations did not generally vary by sex.

Conclusions: FMD was associated with housing and food insecurity. Additional studies examining relationships between specific mental health indicators and SDoH among diverse populations are needed.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the prevalence of frequent mental distress among black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian/Alaskan Native adults in the US. 2. Identify contextual factors associated with frequent mental distress among racial and ethnic minorities in the US. 3. List common measures of social context or social determinants of health and population-based data sources that can be used to examine these factors.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiologist with training in behavioral sciences research and methods.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3184.1: Social Epidemiology Poster Session 2