Education and income: which is more important for mental health?
OBJECTIVE
To assess which indicators of socioeconomic status are associated with an increased prevalence of common mental disorders.


METHODS
Cross sectional household survey.


METHODS
Santiago, Chile.


METHODS
Random sample of adults aged 16-65 residing in private households.


RESULTS
Less education (odds ratio 2.44, 95% confidence intervals 1.50 to 3.97), a recent income decrease (odds ratio 2.14, 1.70 to 2.70), and poor housing (odds ratio 1.53, 1.05 to 2.23), were the only socioeconomic status variables that remained significantly associated with an increased prevalence of common mental disorders after adjustments. The prevalence of common mental disorders was also higher among people with manual unskilled occupations, overcrowded housing, and lower per capita income but these associations disappeared after adjustment for other explanatory and confounding variables.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a strong, inverse, and independent association between education and common mental disorders. However, income was not associated with the prevalence of common mental disorders, after adjusting for other socioeconomic variables. Similar results have been found in other Latin American studies but British studies tend to find the opposite, that income but not education is associated with common mental disorders. Understanding the impact of socioeconomic factors on mental health requires research in poor as well as rich countries.
Araya
R
R
University of Bristol, Division of Psychiatry, Bristol, UK. R.Araya@bris.ac.uk
Lewis
G
G
Rojas
G
G
Fritsch
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors