title: Does contextual unemployment matter for health status across the life course? A longitudinal multilevel study exploring the link between neighbourhood unemployment and functional somatic symptoms.
abstract: This study examines whether neighbourhood unemployment is related to functional somatic symptoms, independently of the individual employment, across the life course and at four specific life course periods (age 16, 21, 30 and 42). Self-reported questioner data was used from a 26-year prospective Swedish cohort (n=1010) with complementary neighbourhood register data. A longitudinal and a set of age-specific cross-sectional hierarchal linear regressions was carried out. The results suggest that living in a neighbourhood with high unemployment has implications for residents' level of functional somatic symptoms, regardless of their own unemployment across time, particularly at age 30.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health Unit, Umeå University, SE-901 85 UMEÅ, Sweden. Electronic address: anna.brydsten@umu.se.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brydsten
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health Unit, Umeå University, SE-901 85 UMEÅ, Sweden. Electronic address: per.e.gustafsson@umu.se.
authors.forename: Per E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health Unit, Umeå University, SE-901 85 UMEÅ, Sweden. Electronic address: anne.hammarstrom@umu.se.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hammarström
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health Unit, Umeå University, SE-901 85 UMEÅ, Sweden. Electronic address: miguel.san.sebastian@umu.se.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: San Sebastian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D000071896:Medically Unexplained Symptoms; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Functional somatic symptoms; Individual unemployment; Life course; Neighbourhood unemployment