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Depressive Symptoms and Sexually Transmitted Disease: Evidence from a Low-Income Neighborhood of New York City

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Abstract

We examined the association between sexually transmitted disease (STD) and depressive symptoms. Our analysis utilized the 2015 cross-sectional Washington Heights Community Survey. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the primary association between having a history of STD and patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score while adjusting for potential confounders. Then in separate models, we adjusted for the interaction of social factors with PHQ-9 score to test for modification effect on the primary association. In this low-income neighborhood, STD history was not significantly associated with PHQ-9 score in the overall logistic regression model for the primary association. However, in interaction models, STD and depressive symptoms were associated in sub-groups defined by social factors, namely being Hispanic [odds ratio (OR) 1.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.15], foreign-born (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.02–1.15), and having low to moderate social support (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.02–1.15). Our results demonstrate a need for targeted interventions to be applied to vulnerable subgroups identified.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Peter Muennig and Dr. Zohn Rosen for their insightful comments.

Funding

Funding for the authors was provided by the Dean’s Office, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The study sponsor had no role in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing the manuscript; and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy and Economics (CHOICE) Institute, University of Washington School of Pharmacy, 1959 NE Pacific Street, HSB H-375, Box 357630, Seattle, WA, 98195-7630, USA

    Boshen Jiao

  2. Global Research Analytics for Population Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Boshen Jiao, Zafar Zafari & Sharifa Z. Williams

  3. Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, 20 N Pine St, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Zafar Zafari

  4. Department of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W 168th St, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Kai Ruggeri

  5. Social Solutions and Services Research, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Bldg. 35, Orangeburg, NY, 10962, USA

    Sharifa Z. Williams

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  1. Boshen Jiao
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  2. Zafar Zafari
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Correspondence to Boshen Jiao.

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The Review by and approval from the appropriate institutional and/or national ethical review committee was not needed in this study because the 2015 Washington Heights Community Survey (WHCS) dataset is publicly available: http://www.gssndi.com.

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Jiao, B., Zafari, Z., Ruggeri, K. et al. Depressive Symptoms and Sexually Transmitted Disease: Evidence from a Low-Income Neighborhood of New York City. Community Ment Health J 55, 1147–1151 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00405-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-019-00405-9

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