title: Psychosocial stressors and lung function in youth ages 10-17: an examination by stressor, age and gender.
abstract: Research on the impact of psychosocial stressors on child and adolescent lung function is uncommon, and has primarily relied either on parents' own stress measures or parent-reported stressors the child experienced, which may be a poor proxy for perceived stress in older children and adolescents.
  
  
  
  We performed multivariate linear regression of spirometry measures (FVC, FEV1 and FEF25-75) and psychosocial stressors in 584 adolescents in the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey. We examined family conflict, unsafe neighborhood or school, and the absence of a father in models stratified by gender, adjusting for PM2.5 and potential confounders.
  
  
  
  We observed reductions in lung function in males related to the absence of a father in the house (FEV1: -176.2 ml, 95% CI -322.7, -29.7) and family conflict (FEV1: -156.2 ml, 95% CI -327.8, 15.5); associations were stronger in older males ages 15-17 years for each stressor (P for interaction of age and sex was 0.009 and 0.06, respectively).
  
  
  
  This research informs a very small literature on psychosocial stressors and lung function in adolescents. Our finding of differential vulnerability by age and gender warrants further exploration of adolescent psychosocial stressor response on lung function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of California, 7910 Frost Street, Ste 370, San Diego, CA 92123, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bandoli
authors.affiliation: Unaffiliated, Los Angeles, CA 91214, USA.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: von Ehrenstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ritz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012737:Sex Factors; D064890:Social Determinants of Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: adolescents; epidemiology; social determinants