title: Neighborhood determinants of mood and anxiety disorders among men who have sex with men in New York City.
abstract: We examined the relationship between economic, physical, and social characteristics of neighborhoods, where men who have sex with men (MSM) lived and socialized, and symptom scores of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
  
  
  
  Participants came from a cross-sectional study of a population-based sample of New York City MSM recruited in 2010-2012 (n = 1126). Archival and survey-based data were obtained on neighborhoods, where the men lived and where they socialized most often.
  
  
  
  MSM who socialized in neighborhoods with more economic deprivation and greater general neighborhood attachment experienced higher GAD symptoms. The relationship between general attachment to neighborhoods where MSM socialized and mental health depended on the level of gay community attachment: in neighborhoods characterized by greater gay community attachment, general neighborhood attachment was negatively associated with GAD symptoms, while in low gay community attachment neighborhoods, general neighborhood attachment had a positive association with GAD symptoms.
  
  
  
  This study illustrates the downsides of having deep ties to social neighborhoods when they occur in the absence of broader access to ties with the community of one's sexual identity. Interventions that help MSM cross the spatial boundaries of their social neighborhoods and promote integration of MSM into the broader gay community may contribute to the reduction of elevated rates of depression and anxiety in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA. cerda@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8441-7046
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerdá
authors.affiliation: New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nandi
authors.affiliation: New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education/CUNY School of Medicine, City College of New York, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Frye
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rundle
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sheehan
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Biostatistics and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Hoover
authors.affiliation: Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, New York University College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA.|Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Danielle C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Ompad
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, NY, USA.|Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Tieu
authors.affiliation: New York Blood Center, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Beryl
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koblin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D009519:New York City; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Men who have sex with men; Neighborhood environment; New York City