G David Batty1, Mark Hamer, Catharine R Gale. 1. Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London, UK Division Surgery & Interventional Science, University College London, UK Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The onset of psychological distress most commonly occurs in adolescence and, in keeping with other exposures, is time-varying across the life course. Most studies of its association with mortality risk are, however, conducted in middle- and older-aged populations with a single baseline assessment of this characteristic. This may lead to an underestimation of the magnitude of distress-mortality relationship. METHODS: We used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, a prospective cohort study. Psychological distress and covariates were collected at ages 5, 10, and 26. Vital status was ascertained between ages 26 and 44 years. RESULTS: Eighteen years of mortality surveillance of 5901 individuals (3221 women) gave rise to 74 deaths. After adjustment for a series of confounding factors which included early life socioeconomic status, birth characteristics, and cognition, relative to the unaffected group, distress in childhood only was associated with around a 50% elevation in mortality risk (hazard ratio; 95% confidence interval: 1.45; 0.84, 2.51), while distress in adulthood only was related to a doubling of risk (1.95; 0.90, 4.21). In study members with persistent distress symptoms (childhood and adulthood) there was a tripling of the death rate (3.10; 1.42, 6.74) (p-value for trend across these categories: 0.002). CONCLUSION: The suggestion of a strong association between life course distress and death warrants replication in a study with a greater number of events.
BACKGROUND: The onset of psychological distress most commonly occurs in adolescence and, in keeping with other exposures, is time-varying across the life course. Most studies of its association with mortality risk are, however, conducted in middle- and older-aged populations with a single baseline assessment of this characteristic. This may lead to an underestimation of the magnitude of distress-mortality relationship. METHODS: We used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, a prospective cohort study. Psychological distress and covariates were collected at ages 5, 10, and 26. Vital status was ascertained between ages 26 and 44 years. RESULTS: Eighteen years of mortality surveillance of 5901 individuals (3221 women) gave rise to 74 deaths. After adjustment for a series of confounding factors which included early life socioeconomic status, birth characteristics, and cognition, relative to the unaffected group, distress in childhood only was associated with around a 50% elevation in mortality risk (hazard ratio; 95% confidence interval: 1.45; 0.84, 2.51), while distress in adulthood only was related to a doubling of risk (1.95; 0.90, 4.21). In study members with persistent distress symptoms (childhood and adulthood) there was a tripling of the death rate (3.10; 1.42, 6.74) (p-value for trend across these categories: 0.002). CONCLUSION: The suggestion of a strong association between life course distress and death warrants replication in a study with a greater number of events.
Authors: Elena Sosa-Cordobés; Francisca María García-Padilla; Ángela María Ortega-Galán; Miriam Sánchez-Alcón; Almudena Garrido-Fernández; Juan Diego Ramos-Pichardo Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-09-02 Impact factor: 4.614