title: Elderly from lower socioeconomic groups are more vulnerable to mental health problems, but area deprivation does not contribute: a comparison between Slovak and Dutch cities.
abstract: Little is known about factors associated with mental health problems (MHP) of the elderly in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods, and comparisons between Central European and Western European countries on this topic are lacking. We examined whether MHP occurred more frequently in deprived neighbourhoods and among deprived people. Next, we examined whether the association of MHP with area deprivation differed by country and whether this could be explained by the socioeconomic (SE) characteristics of the residents. We obtained data on non-institutionalized residents aged 65 years and above from the EU-FP7: EURO-URHIS 2 project from Slovak ( N = 665, response rate 44.0%) and Dutch cities ( N = 795, response rate 50.2%). An elevated score on General Health Questionnaire-12 (≥2) indicated MHP. Education and household income with financial strain were used as measures of individual SE status. We employed multilevel logistic regression. Overall rates of MHP were significantly higher in Slovakia (40.6%) than in the Netherlands (30.6%). The neighbourhood unemployment rate was not associated with the mental health of elderly in either country. Rates of MHP were significantly higher among elderly with low and medium income [odds ratio (OR) = 1.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-2.62; OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.12-2.41, respectively] and financial strain (OR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.56-3.28) when compared with those with high income and no strain, respectively. Individual-level SE characteristics explained differences between the two countries. The risk of MHP among the elderly is associated with their individual-level SE position but not with neighbourhood deprivation in both Slovakia and the Netherlands.
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic.|2 Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Public Health, Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic.|3 Slovak Public Health Association-SAVEZ, Kosice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Behanova
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic.|2 Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Public Health, Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic.|3 Slovak Public Health Association-SAVEZ, Kosice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Katreniakova
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic.|2 Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Public Health, Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic.|3 Slovak Public Health Association-SAVEZ, Kosice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Iveta
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nagyova
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Epidemiology and Information, Municipal Health Service, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Erik J C
authors.initials: EJC
authors.lastname: van Ameijden
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic.|5 Department of Community and Occupational Health, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jitse P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Community and Occupational Health, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sijmen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Reijneveld
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002947:Cities / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D018154:Slovakia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*