Effects of poverty on mental health in the UK working-age population: causal analyses of the UK Household Longitudinal Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Addressing poverty through taxation or welfare policies is likely important for public mental health; however, few studies assess poverty's effects using causal epidemiology. We estimated the effect of poverty on mental health.

Methods

We used data on working-age adults (25-64 years) from nine waves of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (2009-19; n = 45 497/observations = 202 207 following multiple imputation). We defined poverty as a household equivalized income <60% median, and the outcome likely common mental disorder (CMD) as a General Health Questionnaire-12 score ≥4. We used double-robust marginal structural modelling with inverse probability of treatment weights to generate absolute and relative effects. Supplementary analyses separated transitions into/o

SUBMITTER: Thomson RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10114108 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature