What stresses men? predictors of perceived stress in a population-based multi-ethnic cross sectional cohort

BMC Public Health

Charnita M Zeigler-Johnson¹  Elaine Spangler¹  Anita L Weber¹  Timothy R Rebbeck² 

[1] Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 217 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6021, USA;Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

关键词: Age;    Ethnicity;    Neighborhoods;   

Others  :  1162566
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-13-113

 received in 2012-03-26, accepted in 2013-01-14,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Perceived stress (PS) is a risk factor for a variety of diseases. However, relatively little is known about age- or ethnicity-specific differences in the effect of potential predictors of PS in men.

Methods

We used a population-based survey of 6,773 White, 1,681 Black, and 617 Hispanic men in Southeastern Pennsylvania to evaluate the relationship of self-reported PS and financial security, health status, social factors, and health behaviors. Interactions across levels of age and ethnicity were tested using logistic regression models adjusted for overall health status, education, and household poverty.

Results

High PS decreased significantly with age (p < 0.0001) and varied by ethnicity (p = 0.0001). Exposure to health-related and economic factors were more consistently associated with elevated PS in all ethnicities and ages, while social factors and health behaviors were less strongly or not at all associated with PS in most groups. Significant differences in the relationship of high PS by age and ethnicity were observed among men who are medically uninsured (p = 0.0002), reported missing a meal due to cost (p < 0.0001), or had spent a night in the hospital (p = 0.020). In contrast, not filling a prescription due to cost and diagnosed with a mental health condition were associated with high PS but did not differ by age and ethnicity subgroup.

Conclusions

These data suggest that some, but not all, factors associated with high PS differ by age and/or ethnicity. Research, clinical, or public health initiatives that involve social stressors should consider differences by age and ethnicity.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Rebbeck et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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