Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression.
Most inequality research on the relationship between inequality and mental health has focused on cross-country variation. Findings from within-country data are mixed. We examined whether changes in municipal Gini index or in the share of people living in relative poverty were linked to changes in th...
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092775&type=printable |
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| author | Heikki Hiilamo |
| author_facet | Heikki Hiilamo |
| author_sort | Heikki Hiilamo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most inequality research on the relationship between inequality and mental health has focused on cross-country variation. Findings from within-country data are mixed. We examined whether changes in municipal Gini index or in the share of people living in relative poverty were linked to changes in the use of antidepressants in several Finnish municipalities between 1995 and 2010. We found that more young adult females used antidepressants in municipalities where relative poverty had increased. Changes in municipal-level Gini index were not positively associated with changes in the use of antidepressants in the municipalities between 1995 and 2010. However, fewer elderly females used antidepressants in municipalities where the Gini index increased. In addition, more young adults used antidepressants in municipalities where the number of those not being educated or trained had also increased. An increase in the number of persons over 65 years of age living alone was positively associated with an increase in the use of antidepressants among elderly females. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a76e8e15ccf4ba5ae5eaa3042e1934d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a76e8e15ccf4ba5ae5eaa3042e1934d2025-08-20T03:01:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0193e9277510.1371/journal.pone.0092775Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression.Heikki HiilamoMost inequality research on the relationship between inequality and mental health has focused on cross-country variation. Findings from within-country data are mixed. We examined whether changes in municipal Gini index or in the share of people living in relative poverty were linked to changes in the use of antidepressants in several Finnish municipalities between 1995 and 2010. We found that more young adult females used antidepressants in municipalities where relative poverty had increased. Changes in municipal-level Gini index were not positively associated with changes in the use of antidepressants in the municipalities between 1995 and 2010. However, fewer elderly females used antidepressants in municipalities where the Gini index increased. In addition, more young adults used antidepressants in municipalities where the number of those not being educated or trained had also increased. An increase in the number of persons over 65 years of age living alone was positively associated with an increase in the use of antidepressants among elderly females.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092775&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Heikki Hiilamo Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression. PLoS ONE |
| title | Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression. |
| title_full | Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression. |
| title_fullStr | Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression. |
| title_short | Is income inequality 'toxic for mental health'? An ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression. |
| title_sort | is income inequality toxic for mental health an ecological study on municipal level risk factors for depression |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0092775&type=printable |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT heikkihiilamo isincomeinequalitytoxicformentalhealthanecologicalstudyonmunicipallevelriskfactorsfordepression |